Indore-based Entertainment World Developers Ltd (EWDL), a mall developer in the tier II and III cities, plans to raise up to Rs 500 crore through an initial public offering (IPO), a top company official said.

The company has already filed a red herring draft prospectus (DHRP) with the markets regulator and will use the proceeds to develop more malls in the smaller cities and towns, where the demand for organised retail is growing rapidly.

“We plan to hit the capital markets in the first quarter of the next fiscal. We have recently filed the DHRP, but we plan to have the public issue next year, by which time, the company will attain a scale in terms of revenues and number of malls. We look at a 30 per cent dilution (of stake),” EWDL Managing Director, Mr Manish Kalani told PTI on the sidelines of India Shopping Forum here. The merchant bankers to the issue are ICICI Securities, Kotak Bank and Edelwiss, he said.

The proceeds will be used for construction in ongoing projects and to buy back some of the convertible debt issued by a unit to fund run by ICICI Venture and Mumbai-based high-street mall developer Phoenix Mills, that owns 40.3 per cent stake in the company.

EWDL, which is also developing of residential townships in smaller cities, plans to open 10 more malls by the end of this fiscal. Of this, five malls are under various stages of development and will open in this calendar year, EWDL CEO Mr Arif Sheikh, said.

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