Lodha Developers Files For Rs 2,500-Cr IPO
Macrotech Developers (formerly Lodha Developers), one of India’s largest real estate players, has filed a draft red herring prospectus with market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) to raise around Rs 2,500 crore via an initial public offer. The realtor had revived its listing plans on the back of a sharp surge in residential sales and improved investor sentiment and would file its papers with Sebi by March. The e-filing of the DRHP has been done. The Lodha IPO is majorly a primary issue of shares and the proceeds are likely to be used for debt reduction, land acquisition and new projects. In 2018, the realtor had said a major chunk of the IPO proceeds would be used towards debt repayment. This is the third attempt by the Mumbai-based firm, which is known for luxury projects such as Trump Towers in Mumbai and Grosvenor Square in London, to launch an initial public offering (IPO). Lodha Group weighed a listing in 2009 and 2018, but deferred those plans due to unfavourable market conditions. There are a total of 10 investment banks working on the IPO. Axis Capital, JP Morgan and Kotak are the lead advisors followed by ICICI Securities, Edelweiss Securities, IIFL Securities, SBI Capital, JM Financial, Yes Securities and Bank of Baroda Capital stated. Law firm Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas is the company counsel and Indus Law is the banker’s counsel. Sidley Austin is the international legal counsel. The exact launch timeline for the IPO will be decided later. Another player in the space, Mumbai-based realty player Puranik Builders, which has received the Sebi nod for its IPO, is planning to hit the markets soon.