PKH Ventures Withdraws Rs 380-Crore IPO After Poor QIB Response

PKH Ventures Ltd. has withdrawn its Rs 379.4-crore initial public offering after receiving a poor response from qualified institutional buyers.

"... due to non-fulfillment of commitment by qualified institutional buyers, the company and promoter selling shareholder, in consultation with IDBI Capital Markets and Securities Ltd. (the BRLM), have decided to withdraw the IPO, vide resolution passed by the board on July 4, 2023," the company said in a statement on Wednesday.

Only 65% of the maiden share sale was subscribed by the end of the last day of the issue on July 4. SEBI guidelines mandate a subscription of at least 90% for an IPO to go through.

The QIB portion of the IPO saw the worst turnout, with only 11% subscription. Non-institutional investors placed bids for 1.67 times the portion set aside for them, while the retail portion was subscribed at 99% at the close of the issue.

PKH Ventures is involved in construction, development, hospitality, and management services.

Proceeds from the IPO were to be used for equity investment in the subsidiary—Halaipani Hydro Project Pvt.—for the development of a hydropower project worth Rs 124.1 crore.

The company was also planning to infuse Rs 80 crore into its subsidiary Garuda Construction to fund long-term working capital requirements. The IPO proceeds were to be used to pursue inorganic growth through acquisitions and other strategic initiatives, as well as fund expenditures for general corporate purposes.

The maiden share sale included a fresh issue of Rs 270.2 crore and an offer for sale worth Rs 109.1 crore. The price band for the issue was Rs 140–148 per share.

Promoter Praveen Kumar Agarwal intended to sell over 98.31 lakh shares in the offer-for-sale portion.