Indian spirits manufacturer and the maker of Officer’s Choice whisky, Allied Blenders and Distillers Ltd has filed draft papers with SEBI to raise ₹2,000 crore through an initial public offering (IPO).

The IPO comprises a fresh issue and an offer for sale (OFS) of up to ₹1,000 crore each, as per the Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) filed.

Promoters Bina Kishore Chhabria and Resham Chhabria Jeetendra Hemdev will offload equity shares aggregating up to ₹500 crore and up to ₹250 crore, respectively, as part of the OFS. Neesha Kishore Chhabria, who is part of the Promoter Group, will offload shares aggregating up to ₹250 crore.

Bina owns a 52.20-per cent stake in the company currently, while Resham owns a 24.05-per cent stake and Neesha holds a 19.96-per cent stake in the company.

The company may also consider a pre-IPO placement of equity shares aggregating up to ₹200 crore. If undertaken, the size of the fresh issue will be adjusted accordingly.

Established presence

Allied Blenders and Distillers is the third-largest Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL) company in India, with sales across 30 States and Union Territories, as of December 31, 2021. It also exported its products to 22 international markets, including countries in West Asia, North and South America, Africa, Asia and Europe.

As of March 31, 2022, its product portfolio comprised 10 brands of IMFL across whisky, brandy, rum and vodka. It also sells packaged drinking water under Officer’s Choice, Officer’s Choice Blue and Sterling Reserve brands.

Use of funds

The company plans to use about ₹709 crore from the net proceeds for the prepayment or scheduled re-payment of a portion of certain outstanding borrowings. It also plans to use the proceeds for general corporate purposes.

As on December 31, 2021, the total outstanding borrowings of the company stood at ₹926.89 crore.

ICICI Securities, Axis Capital, JM Financial, Kotak Mahindra Capital Company, and Equirus Capital are the Book Running Lead Managers for the issue.

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