Spice IPO to hit market soon

MUMBAI, INDIA: Spice Communications' Rs 600 crore-Initial Public Offering (IPO) will the hit the market on June 25, with the company intending to raise Rs 632 through the offerings.

The company, which operates Spice Telecom brand, had earlier raised Rs 112 crore raised through a pre-IPO placement of 2.48 crore at Rs 45 per share.

At a media briefing here today, Spice said that the price band for the issue, which closes on June 27, has been fixed at Rs 42 and Rs 46 per share. Spice would issue 11.31 crore equity shares of Rs 10 each, while the IPO would be through a 100 per cent book-building route. Enam Financial Consultants and UBS Securities India are book running lead managers, while Karvy Computers is the registrar to the issue.

Dilip Modi, Spice Telecom chairman and managing director, said, "We intend to raise a total of 632 crore, which includes the Rs 112 crore raised through pre-IPO placement, from the capital markets. The proceeds would be used to retire a debt, expand national long distance and international long distance operations and for general corporate purposes,"

Malaysia's incumbent service provider Telekom Malaysia (TM) holds a 49 per cent, while industrialist and Modi group chairman B K Modi owns the remaining 51 per cent stake in Spice Communications. TM's holding will slide to 39 per cent and the promoter's holding to 41 per cent after the IPO. The public would hold the remaining stake.

On closure of the IPO, the company's shares would be listed on BSE.