Quadria-backed drugmaker Akums Drugs & Pharmaceuticals Ltd and PremjiInvest-backed float glass maker Gold Plus have received markets regulator SEBI’s nod to go ahead with their listing plans.
Both firms had filed their preliminary papers for a public listing in February.
Akums Drugs and Pharma
Akums Drugs and Pharma is Quadria Capital’s second largest bet in the healthcare sector.
Per its draft red herring prospectus, the pharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO) aims to raise Rs 680 crore through a fresh issue in its IPO, besides an offer for sale of 18.59 million shares by its promoters and the PE firm. Of this, Quadria intends to sell about 14.31 million shares, or about two-thirds of its 15% stake in Akums.
Quadria had invested about Rs 500 crore in the company in late 2019 through a mix of primary investment and share purchase from the promoters. Last month, it waived off its right to exit the company through a buyback. Earlier, the buyback clause required the company's promoters to buy Quadria’s stake back if the drugmaker failed to float its IPO by 31 December, 2024, and if it also failed to provide a secondary exit to the PE firm.
For the year ended March 2023, Akums recorded revenue of Rs 3,655 crore with net profit of around Rs 100 crore. It plunged into the red in the current financial year with a loss of Rs 155 crore in April-September on revenue of Rs 2,100 crore.
The company manufactures a range of dosage forms, including tablets, capsules, liquid orals, vials, ampoules, blow-filled seals, topical preparations, eye drops, dry powder injections, and gummies.
Gold Plus
Delhi-based Gold Plus, backed by Premji Invest, the family office of Wipro founder chairman Azim Premji, is looking to raise Rs 500 crore through a fresh issue in its initial public offering.
The issue also involves an OFS of 15.6 million shares by promoters, PremjiInvest and Kotak Alternate Asset Managers’ special situation private equity fund.
While PremjiInvest will divest around half its 19.54% stake, Kotak Special Situations Fund will sell a third of its 9.28% stake in the offering.
PremjiInvest invested Rs 400 crore in Gold Plus in 2018. It later increased this investment, for an additional stake of Rs 100 crore at a valuation upside of 33%. Meanwhile, Kotak had pumped in Rs 300 crore to buy the stake two years ago.
Founded in 1985, Gold Plus is one of India’s largest float glass manufacturers, with two manufacturing lines in North India, and offers a full bouquet of product offerings of clear glass and value-added glass. It manufactures and sells a variety of glass for industrial and home use under the brand Gold Plus Float Glass. It primarily makes ‘float glass’ which is used to make windows or mirrors.
It ended the financial year 2023 with revenue of Rs 1,422 crore, reporting a flat growth. Its profit also dropped 13% to Rs 217 crore. The current year is likely to be better with the first six months providing a visibility on annual revenue of around Rs 1,600-1,700 crore.