The Hindu Business Line : Shriram EPC firms up IPO plans

Chennai June 11 Shriram EPC Ltd has firmed-up plans for an initial public offering. The company has appointed Kotak Mahindra Bank and ICICI Securities as book running lead managers (BRLM) to the issue.

"The timing of the issue is subject to SEBI's approval, but we are targeting the end of this calender year," Mr T. Shivaraman, Managing Director, Shriram EPC, said on Monday.

While the company is yet to decide on the details of the issue, such as the number of shares on offer, it is learnt that there would be an issue of fresh shares plus an offer of sale of shares by the two private equity firms that have invested in the company — Bessemer Venture Partners and Chrysalis Capital.

Chennai-based Shriram EPC Ltd, as the name suggests, is a provider of engineering, procurement and construction services. Its main operations are in power (thermal, biomass and wind), metallurgy (steel plants) and cement. The company also has expertise in rehabilitating old sewer pipes.

Last year, the company's turnover was a little over Rs 300 crore, more than double the previous year's turnover of Rs 142 crore. Net profit was Rs 17 crore.

Mr Shivaraman said that the order backlog with the company was about Rs 1,300 crore, executable over three years.

The biggest order the company has is for the construction of a 1.5 million-tonne cement plant for Jayajyothi Textiles of Andhra Pradesh. The order is worth Rs 400 crore.