Retail investors who have submitted bids for Ruchi Soya's ₹4,300 crore follow-on public offering (FPO) can withdraw their applications during 28-30 March, said the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), said a Mint report.
The market regulator’s move is seen as a rare such step and has followed instances of unsolicited messages being sent to Patanjali Ayurved Ltd’s users to invest in the said offer.
“Great news for all beloved members of Patanjali parivar. A good investment opportunity in Patanjali Group. Patanjali Group company—Ruchi Soya Industries Ltd—has opened the follow-on public offer(FPO) for retail investors. The issue closes on 28 March 2022. This is available in the price band— ₹615-650 per share , i.e., discount of about 30 percent to market price. You can apply for shares through your bank/ broker/ ASBA/UPI in your demat account," according to the unsolicited message, a copy of which was seen by Mint.
As per the Mint report, Sebi directed the lead banking managers to the FPO to issue a notice to all investors in the form of newspaper advertisements, cautioning them about the circulation of such unsolicited SMSes, on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The FPO opened on March 24 and closed on March 28, as the company looked to become debt-free and also comply with Sebi’s requirement of increasing minimum public shareholding to 10 percent.
The issue was subscribed 3.6 times on the final day of bidding. The company received bids for 17.56 crore equity shares against the issue size of 4.89 crore equity shares.
