SEBI places JSW Cement's Rs 4,000-cr IPO on hold for now

Capital markets regulator SEBI has put on hold the proposed Rs 4,000-crore initial public offering (IPO) of JSW Cement. Without specifying reasons, SEBI stated that the "issuance of observations (has been) kept in abeyance," according to an update on its website on Monday.

JSW Cement, part of the diversified JSW Group, filed the preliminary IPO papers with SEBI on August 16.

The proposed issue involves a new issue of equity shares worth Rs 2,000 crore and an offer-for-sale (OFS) of Rs 2,000 crore by investor shareholders, according to the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) filed with the regulator.

Under the OFS, AP Asia Opportunistic Holdings Pte. Ltd and Synergy Metals Investments Holding Ltd will offload shares worth Rs 937.5 crore each and State Bank of India (SBI) will divest shares valued at Rs 125 crore.

Proceeds from the fresh issue to the tune of Rs 800 crore will be used for partially financing the establishment of a new integrated cement unit in Nagaur, Rajasthan, while Rs 720 crore will be allocated for payment of debt and the remaining funds will be allocated for general corporate purposes.

JSW Cement, which has a manufacturing capacity of 19 MT annually, aims to achieve the capacity of 60 MTPA. It currently has manufacturing units at Vijayanagar in Karnataka, Nandyal in Andhra Pradesh, Salboni in West Bengal, Jajpur in Odisha and Dolvi in Maharashtra.

Besides, JSW Cement through its subsidiary Shiva Cement operates a clinker unit in Odisha. JSW Group has business interests in sectors such as steel, energy, maritime infrastructure, defence, B2B e-commerce, realty, paints, sports and venture capital.

JM Financial Ltd, Axis Capital Ltd, Citigroup Global Markets India Private Ltd, DAM Capital Advisors Ltd, Goldman Sachs (India) Securities Private Ltd, Jefferies India Private Ltd, Kotak Mahindra Capital Company Ltd and SBI Capital Markets Ltd are responsible for managing the company's IPO process.