Avenue Supermarkets sets Rs 295-299 price band for Rs 1,870-crore initial public offering

Avenue Supermarts, the owner and operator of retail chain D-Mart, has set a price band of Rs 295-299 for its Rs 1,870-crore initial public offering (IPO) which will come out in the market on March 8.

The issue will close on March 10. The price band of Rs the Rs 1,870-crore IPO has been set at Rs 295-299 per equity share of face value of Rs 10 each, the company said.

The minimum bid lot is 50 equity shares and in multiples of that thereafter.

The company proposes to utilise the proceeds of the issue for repayment or prepayment of a portion of loans and redemption or earlier redemption of NCDs it has availed, it said.

The company also plans to use the funds for construction and purchase of fit-outs for new stores and for general corporate purposes.

"The company believes in a cluster-based growth approach. We will continue to grow our businesses in existing regions - western, southern and central India," said Neville Noronha, MD & CEO, Avenue Supermarts, here.

The D-Mart owner plans to use Rs 1,080 crore of the money raised for debt repayment and Rs 366 crore for building new stores, it said.
The firm, valued at Rs 18,000 crore, is an emerging national supermarket chain, with focus on value-retailing.

Nine merchant bankers, Kotak Mahindra Capital, Axis Capital, Edelweiss Financial Services, HDFC Bank, ICICI Securities, JM Financial Institutional Securities, Inga Capital, SBI Capital Markets and Motilal Oswal Investment Advisors -- will manage the Avenue Supermarts IPO.