Aether Industries eyes Rs 1,300 cr QIP fundraise for capex

Aether Industries shareholders approved the proposed fundraising of Rs 1,300 crore at the company’s AGM held on September 10.

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Gujarat based specialty chemicals maker Aether Industries Limited is planning to hit the markets soon with a qualified institutional placement (QIP) offering through which the company intends to raise around Rs 1,200 crore-1,300 crore, people aware of the development told Moneycontrol.

Incorporated in 2013, Aether Industries is a specialty chemical manufacturer  focused on producing advanced intermediates and specialty chemicals involving complex and differentiated chemistry. Aether is also a leading CRAMS (Contract Research and Manufacturing Services) provider. Aether’s products cater to industries such as pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, renewables and sustainability and oil and gas.

The company is working with investment banks JM Financial, DAM Capital and UBS on the fundraise, they added. Aether is likely to launch the QIP early next quarter, depending on market conditions, the sources said.

The funds will be used for capex requirements, working capital needs as well as inorganic growth opportunities, the sources said.

“The company has been exploring opportunities for its growth including capitalising of acquired plots vide setting up operational facilities in-line with the core business object of the company. This would require sufficient resources including funds to be available and to be allocated, from time to time,” the company noted in its annual general meeting (AGM) notice to its shareholders.

“It would be, therefore, prudent for the company to have the requisite enabling approvals in place for meeting the fund requirements for its growth, capital expenditure, working capital, financing organic or inorganic growth opportunities, general corporate purposes, investment in subsidiaries, refinancing the existing borrowings and also such other corporate purposes,” the notice added.

Aether Industries shareholders approved the proposed fundraising of Rs 1,300 crore at the company’s AGM held on September 10.

The proposed QIP will also help the company meet the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) norms on minimum public shareholding, which require a listed company to have a minimum of 25 percent of public shareholding three years from its IPO.

Aether promoters hold an 81.79 percent stake in the company currently and they need to bring down their shareholding to 75 percent. Aether Industries went public in June 2022.

This will be Aether’s second QIP since its IPO in 2022. In June 2023, the company raised Rs 750 crore through a QIP.

Emails sent to Aether Industries did not elicit a response till publication.

Aether Industries financials 

For the quarter ending September 30, Aether Industries reported a revenue of Rs 2,091 crore, witnessing a growth of 17 percent over the same period last year. The company’s EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) grew by 5 percent to Rs 642 crore, while profit grew by only one percent to Rs 381 crore

The company derives 57 percent of its revenues from advanced intermediates and specialty chemicals with wide applications across industries, 14 percent revenue from its CRAMS business and 27 percent from exclusive manufacturing and supply agreements with various multinational corporations.

Its global clients include names such as Saudi Aramco, SEQENS Group, Baker Hughes, Novoloop, Inc etc.