Main Highlights:
- Ruchi Soya, acquired by Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali Group, will begin its Follow-On Public Offering on March 24. (FPO).
- Patanjali, which acquired Ruchi Soya through an insolvency proceeding for Rs 4,350 crore, now owns 98.9 percent of the edible oil firm, with public shareholders owning the remaining 1.1 percent.
- The offering proceeds will be utilized for several purposes, including loan repayment and meeting the company’s additional working capital requirements other than for general business operations.
- The subsequent FPO is intended to assist the firm in achieving SEBI’s 25% public ownership rule for listed companies.
- According to the firm, it will take three years to reduce advertiser ownership to 75%.
On March 24, Ruchi Soya, bought by Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali Group, will launch its Follow-On Public Offer (FPO). The edition will be available till March 28. The edible oil firm hopes to raise Rs 4,300 crore through this FPO. The FPO, it stated in a statement, consists of equity shares with a face value of Rs 2 apiece, totaling Rs 4,300 crore. Additionally, the issuance contains a reserve of up to 10,000 equity shares for qualified workers to subscribe to. If this placement is successful, the subsequent size will be lowered.
The next FPO is designed to assist the firm in meeting SEBI’s minimum public ownership requirement of 25% in a listed company. The business anticipates taking three years to reduce advertiser ownership to 75%. Today, Patanjali, which purchased Ruchi Soya through an insolvency procedure for Rs 4,350 crore, controls 98.9 percent of the edible oil company, with the remaining 1.1 percent owned by public shareholders.
Patanjali’s stake in Ruchi Soya is projected to fall to roughly 81 percent following the FPO, with the remainder controlled by public investors. The proceeds from the offering are intended to be used for various reasons, including repayment of past-due loans and covering the company’s additional working capital requirements other than general business purposes. Ruchi Soya filed a draught red herring prospectus (DRHP) in June 2021 and gained clearance from SEBI in August to issue the FPO.
About Ruchi Soya
Ruchi Soya is India’s largest producer of edible oil. Patanjali Ayurved bought it in 2019. According to a report issued by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Ruchi Soya was rated 175th among the top 250 consumer products businesses in the Global Powers of the Consumer Products Industry 2012. Ruchi Soya Industries Limited manufactures and sells edible oils, vanaspati, baking fats, and soya food predominantly in India through its subsidiaries. Additionally, it sells soya chunks, granules, and goods made from soya flour. The business is a subsidiary of the Ruchi Group.
The firm exports a variety of agricultural products, including raw cotton. It obtains material from close business contacts (directly ginners) in India. It exports to various purchasing houses, textile mills, and trade firms across the world. The firm extracts a variety of seed varieties. It sells textured soy protein, soy flour, fruit juice, and soy milk. Additionally, the firm sells gram, wheat, rice, maize, sorghum, seeds, coffee, marine goods, tuar, peas, barley, soap, fresh fruit bunches, and seedlings (equipment).
Later in 2010, Ruchi Soya established a wholly-owned subsidiary, Ruchi Industries Pte. Ltd. The Singapore unit will conduct commercial activities such as planting and processing, agri-commodity trading, and acquisitions/investments in plantation enterprises. Ruchi Soya Industries started the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process in December 2017 due to its approximately 12,000 crores in total debt. Patanjali Ayurved purchased debt-ridden Ruchi Soya for Rs 4350 crores in December 2019.