Archean Chemical Industries files IPO papers with Sebi

Archean Chemical Industries, a speciality marine chemical manufacturer, has filed preliminary papers with markets regulator Sebi to raise as much as Rs 2,200 crore through an initial public offering (IPO).

The IPO consists of a fresh issue of equity shares aggregating up to Rs 1,000 crore and an offer for sale of up to 1.9 crore shares by the promoter and investors, including the India Resurgence Fund, a joint venture between the Piramal Group and Bain Capital, according to the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP). According to market sources, the company is expected to raise anywhere between Rs 2,000 crore and Rs 2,200 crore through the initial share-sale.

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The company plans to use the proceeds of the fresh issue for the redemption of non-convertible debentures (NCDs) issued by it. The move will reduce the company’s outstanding indebtedness, debt servicing costs, improve the debt-to-equity ratio and enable utilisation of its internal accruals for further investment in business growth and expansion.

Archean is focused on producing and exporting bromine, industrial salt, and sulphate of potash to customers around the world. It produces its products from its brine reserves in the Rann of Kutch, located on the coast of Gujarat, and manufactures products at its facility near Hajipir in Gujarat. The bromine produced by Archean is used as key initial level material, which has applications in pharma, agrochemicals, water treatment, flame retardant, additives, oil & gas and energy storage segments.

Industrial salt is an important raw material used in the chemical industry for the production of various other chemicals and compounds and sulphate of potash is used as a fertilizer and also has medical uses. Archean’s revenue from operations has grown at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 9.42 per cent from Rs 565.5 crore in fiscal 2019 to Rs 740.76 crore in fiscal 2021. IIFL Securities, ICICI Securities and JM Financial are the book running lead managers to the IPO.