Berliner Tageblatt - Paras Healthcare Raises ₹652.5 Crore From IPO Anchor Investors

Paras Healthcare secured ₹652.5 crore from anchor investors before its ₹1,450-crore initial public offering opens on October 21.

Paras Healthcare Ltd, which operates hospitals under the Paras Health brand, has garnered Rs 652.5 crore from anchor investors, ahead of its Rs 1,450-crore initial public offering (IPO).

The company attracted participation from domestic as well as global anchor investors.

As reported by circulars uploaded on exchanges' websites, Paras Healthcare has allotted 94,15,584 equity shares to 39 funds at Rs 693 apiece, aggregating to Rs 652.5 crore.

Investors who participated in the anchor round included SBI Mutual Fund (MF), HDFC MF, ICICI Prudential MF, Kotak MF, Whiteoak Capital MF, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, BlackRock and Eastspring Investments.

Paras Healthcare's IPO is due to open on October 21 and conclude on October 23.

The price band has been fixed at Rs 660-693 per share.

The proposed IPO comprises a fresh issue of equity shares worth Rs 500 crore and an Offer for Sale (OFS) of shares worth Rs 950 crore by the selling shareholder.

The Gurugram-based firm reduced the issue size from the Rs 1,800 crore planned earlier.

As a part of the OFS, promoter Dharminder Kumar Nagar and investor Commelina Ltd will offload shares.

Paras Healthcare proposes to utilise the proceeds from the fresh issue to repay debt.

The company operates a network of eight hospitals under the Paras Health brand, with a presence across five states and one Union Territory. Its hospitals are located in Gurugram and Panchkula in Haryana, Patna and Darbhanga in Bihar, Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh, Udaipur in Rajasthan, Ranchi in Jharkhand and Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir.

The equity shares are projected to list on the bourses on October 28.

JM Financial, BofA Securities India, and Nuvama Wealth Management are the book-running lead managers to the issue, while MUFG Intime India is the registrar.

H.Seidel--BTB