Penna Cement gets SEBI approval for Rs 1,550 cr IPO

Cement producer Penna Cement Industries has received approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for its Rs 1,550 crore initial public offering (IPO). The IPO comprises a fresh issue of Rs 1,300 crore and an offer for sale of up to Rs 250 crore by promoter PR Cement Holdings, which owns a 33.41% stake in the Hyderabad-based firm that was installed in 1991 by P Prathap Reddy. The firm aims to use a part of the raised fresh capital for the repayment of Rs 550 crore borrowings and Rs 105 crore for funding the requirement of capital expenditure for its KP Line II Project. Penna Cement aims to utilise Rs 80 crore for enhancing its raw grinding and cement mill in Talaricheruvu and Rs 130 crore and Rs 110 crore for installing waste heat recovery facilities in Tandur and Talaricheruvu, respectively, as per the DRHP. Penna Cement runs four integrated production plants and two grinding units across Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Maharashtra with a total capacity of 10 mmtpa as of March 2021, which it aims to expand to 16.5 mmtpa by 2024. In May 2019, the firm took over Sri Lankan cement player Singha Cement that runs a packing terminal in Colombo as part of its focus on a port-based distribution plan. Before that, in March 2018, it had launched one of the largest port-based cement terminals in India at Krishnapatnam with an automated ship loading facility and packing terminals at Gopalpur, Karaikal and Cochin ports. As part of its port-based distribution plan, the Rs 2,476 crore turnover Penna Cement has additionally taken over a self-discharging cement carrying vessel with a maximum cargo capacity of 25,500 tonnes. Image Source Also read: Penna Cement files DRHP with SEBI for Rs 1,550 cr IPO