Akums Drugs and Pharma's Rs 1,857-cr IPO to open on July 30

New Delhi: Akum Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Ltd announced Thursday that it has set a price range of Rs 646 to Rs 679 per share for a Rs 1,857 crore initial public offering (IPO). The company announced that the public subscription for the initial share-sale will begin on July 30 and end on August 1, while the bidding for anchor investors will open for one day on July 29.

The IPO of the company consists of a new issuance of equity shares worth Rs 680 crore and an offer-for-sale (OFS) of 1.73 crore shares valued at Rs 1,177 crore, at the higher end of the price range, by promoters and a current investor. Sanjeev Jain, Sandeep Jain, and Ruby QC Investment Holdings Pte Ltd are the ones who are selling shares in the OFS. The company has set aside Rs 15 crore worth of shares for its employees in the public offering.

The money raised from the new offering will go towards paying off debts, supporting the company's working capital needs, advancing growth through acquisitions, and for general corporate use. After the issuance, brokerage houses have valued the company's market capitalisation at Rs 10,697 crore.      

The company has allocated 75 percent of the total shares to qualified institutional buyers, 15 percent to non-institutional investors, and the remaining 10 percent to retail investors. Investors have the option to bid for at least 22 equity shares and in higher increments.

Established in 2004, Akums is a pharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) that provides a wide range of pharmaceutical products and services in India and internationally.

As of September 30, 2023, notable clients for the company's CDMO business comprise Alembic Pharmaceuticals, Alkem Laboratories, Cipla, Dabur India, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, Hetero Healthcare, Ipca Laboratories, Mankind Pharma, MedPlus Health Services, Micro Labs, Mylan Pharmaceuticals, Natco Pharma, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, and Amishi Consumer Technologies (The Mom's Co).ICICI Securities, Axis Capital, Citigroup Global Markets India, and Ambit Pvt Ltd are the lead managers handling the issue.