Canara Robeco, Hero Motors Among 6 cos to Get Sebi's Nod for IPOs

Six firms, including Canara Robeco Asset Management Company and Hero Motors, have secured Sebi's approval to launch initial public offerings (IPOs), according to an update from the markets regulator on Monday.

Solar equipment manufacturer Emmvee Photovoltaic Power, fintech major Pine Labs, banking and smart card manufacturer Manipal Payment and Identity Solutions, and MTR Foods owner Orkla India also received the green light to float IPOs. These approvals come after the companies filed their preliminary papers with Sebi between April and July and subsequently obtained regulatory observations during September 2-12.

In regulatory terms, Sebi's observations are equivalent to clearance for launching a public issue. Together, the six firms are expected to raise at least Rs 9,000 crore through IPOs, merchant bankers said. Proceeds will largely be directed toward business expansion, debt repayment, and providing an exit opportunity for existing shareholders.

These approvals come at a time of heightened primary market activity, with 55 companies already mobilizing roughly Rs 75,000 crore this year through maiden offerings, while more than a dozen others are preparing to hit the market over the next two to three weeks. Among the approvals, Canara Robeco AMC plans a 4.98 crore equity share IPO, structured entirely as an offer-for-sale (OFS) by promoters Canara Bank and ORIX Corporation Europe NV.

Under the OFS, Canara Bank will offload 2.59 crore shares, while ORIX Corporation (formerly Robeco Groep NV) will divest 2.39 crore shares. It means the company itself will not receive any proceeds from the issue, as all funds will go to the selling shareholders. Hero Motors is raising Rs 1,200 crore through a mix of fresh issue and OFS.

This comprises a fresh issue of equity shares worth Rs 800 crore and an OFS of Rs 400 crore by promoters. Under the OFS, O P Munjal Holdings will sell shares worth Rs 390 crore, while Bhagyoday Investments and Hero Cycles will each divest Rs 5 crore worth of shares. The fresh issue proceeds will partly go toward repaying Rs 285 crore of debt and funding Rs 237 crore of equipment purchases for capacity expansion at its Gautam Buddha Nagar facility in Uttar Pradesh.

Emmvee Photovoltaic Power is targeting a much larger issue size of Rs 3,000 crore. This comprises a fresh issue worth Rs 2,143.86 crore and an OFS of Rs 856.14 crore by promoters. A substantial portion of the fresh proceeds to the tune of Rs 1,607.90 crore has been earmarked for repayment or prepayment of loans and interest, both at the company and its key subsidiary, with the remainder to be used for general corporate purposes.

The offering of fintech major Pine Labs, backed by Temasek and Peak XV Partners, will include a fresh issue of equity shares worth Rs 2,600 crore alongside an OFS of more than 14.78 crore shares by investor shareholders. Among those offloading their stakes are Peak XV Partners, Actis, PayPal, Mastercard Asia/Pacific, Temasek (via Macritchie Investments), Invesco, Madison India Capital, MW XO Digital Finance Fund Holdco, Lone Cascade LP, and co-founder Lokvir Kapoor.

Pine Labs plans to utilize Rs 870 crore from the fresh issue to repay debt, while Rs 760 crore will be invested in IT assets, cloud infrastructure, technology development, and procurement of digital checkout points. Meanwhile, Manipal Payment and Identity Solutions has filed its draft papers confidentially with Sebi.

According to sources, it is seeking to raise about Rs 1,200 crore. Finally, Orkla India, the owner of well-known spice and condiments brands MTR and Eastern, is pursuing a pure OFS route. Its IPO will involve the sale of 2.28 crore equity shares by promoters and other existing shareholders. All six companies are set to list on both the BSE and NSE.