D B Realty raises Rs 920 crore by selling shares to institutional investors via QIP

D B Realty on Thursday said it has raised Rs 920 crore by selling shares to institutional investors, including Morgan Stanley Asia, to fund its real estate projects and strengthen balance sheet.

The company launched its Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP) issue on March 7 and the issue was closed on March 13.

In a regulatory filing, the company informed that the board of directors approved the issue and allotment of 3,56,66,675 equity shares to qualified institutional buyers at the issue price of Rs 258 per equity share, aggregating to Rs 920 crore.

The issue price was 4.75 per cent lower than the floor price of Rs 270.87 per equity share.

The funds raised through the QIP route will provide the company an additional growth capital for its real estate projects and also bolster the balance sheet.

"The QIP received the requisite response from global and domestic investors. The successful completion of the QIP reflects strong long-term fundamentals and investor confidence in the company," D B Realty said.

In less than 2 years, the company has completed three equity raises of about Rs 2,470 crore. Consequently, the consolidated net worth of the company is now more than Rs 5,000 crore, nearly a three-fold increase in less than two years.

The major investors who participated in the QIP are Morgan Stanley Asia (Singapore) PTE, Reliance Commercial Finance Ltd, Bofa Securities Europe SA, Societe Generale, Santosh Industries, Astorne Capital, Nomura Singapore, BNP Paribas Financial Markets and Copthall Mauritius Investment.

Moreover, the company also announced that it would incorporate a new wholly-owned subsidiary, Advent International Ltd, to acquire the company's substantial interests in the hospitality business through an NCLT scheme of arrangement (demerger) process.

Subject to the requisite approvals, each shareholder of the company as of the demerger record date will receive shares in Advent International Ltd and will have an identical shareholding in both listed companies.

"Demerger will unlock shareholder value, and enable a differentiated strategy for capital, projects, operations, and the leadership team. Post-demerger, the shares of Advent International will be listed on both BSE and NSE," the filing said.

D B Realty has a substantial land bank, a portfolio of sale assets in the residential category, and annuity assets in the commercial and hospitality categories. As of December 31, 2023, it has 18 ongoing projects and 12 upcoming projects.