SEBI returns Vishal Mega Mart, Avanse Financial Prospectus on technical grounds

The capital market regulator has pushed back papers of three IPOs in July.

Sucheta Anchaliya

July 26, 2024 / 20:33 IST

Earlier on July 8, Sebi had put on abeyance the proposed initial public offering (IPO) of SK Finance.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has sent back IPO papers of Vishal Mega Mart and Avanse Financial Services Ltd on technical grounds, sources familiar with the development told Moneycontrol. The companies are free to refile their prospectus as early as Monday.

Vishal Mega Mart had filed its draft prospectus under confidential filing two weeks ago, while Avanse Financial filed its DRHP on June 21. “The reason for sending back the prospectuses was technical queries – it’s not a rejection,” the sources confirmed. “The companies could file the papers back as early as Monday,” one source added.

Vishal Mega Mart is supported by a consortium of Kedaara Capital and Partners Group. The company is a leading fashion-led hypermarket chain and intends to raise close to $1 billion from the market. The lead investment banks handling the share sale are Kotak Mahindra Capital, Jefferies, JP Morgan, ICICI Securities, and Morgan Stanley.

Avanse Financial Services Ltd, an Indian non-banking financial company (NBFC) focused on education, filed its DRHP with SEBI on June 21. Avanse Financial Services Limited offers a complete stack of educational offerings ranging from student education loans to expansion capital for educational institutions. Backed by Warburg Pincus, the company counts International Finance Corporation, Kedaara Capital, Mubadala Investment Company, and Avendus Future as its prominent investors.

Earlier this month, SEBI also kept in “abeyance” the proposed initial share sale of another non-bank lender, SK Finance. Without disclosing the reason, an update on the SEBI website on July 8 stated that the “issuance of observations (has been) kept in abeyance” regarding the IPO of SK Finance. The Jaipur-based lender filed its preliminary papers with the capital markets regulator in May this year. According to the draft papers, the IPO comprises a fresh issue of equity shares worth Rs 500 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) of up to Rs 1,700 crore by promoters and investor shareholders.