Ansal Infra to raise Rs 1.5k cr via QIPs

Ansal Infra to raise Rs 1.5k cr via QIPs
The Financial Express, June 16, 2009, Page 2

fe Bureau, New Delhi

Close on the heels of Unitech and HDIL announcing their plans to raise money via the qualified institutional placement (QIP) route, realty major Ansal Properties & Infrastructure Ltd (APIL), on Monday, said it plans to raise funds up to Rs 1,500 crore through the issue of securities on a private placement basis to qualified institutional buyers.

The board of directors of the company has approved “to issue securities up to Rs 1,500 crore by way of qualified institutions placement basis to resident or non-resident QIBs,” the company said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

“The raising of funds via QIP route is a capital raising exercise for APIL to provide both business and financial strength to significantly enhance company’s flexibility,” Pranav Ansal, vice chairman and managing director, Ansal Properties said.

“This QIP will also be used to partly fund and support the two large hi-tech integrated townships consisting of hotels, buildings, shopping malls, IT parks and group housing in Lucknow and Dadri,” he added.

The company’s board would also seek the approval from its shareholders for making public issue or any other issue, from time to time, for raising a sum of up to Rs 2,500 crore. The realty firm is also planning to increase the limit of foreign institutional investors’ (FIIs) in the company to 49%.

At present the limit is at 24%, it said. The firm would seek the approval from its shareholders, by way of postal ballot, for the various ways of fund raising, it added.

Shares of Ansal Infra on Monday closed at Rs 60.35, down 4.21% on the BSE.