Vikram Solar files draft papers to raise ₹1,500 crore via IPO

Solar module maker Vikram Solar on Tuesday said it has filed draft papers with market regulator SEBI seeking permission to raise ₹1,500 crore through an initial public offering (IPO).

The initial share sale will include fresh issues of equities worth up to ₹1,500 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) of up to 17.45 million shares by its promoter group, the Kolkata-based firm said.

The issue at a face value of ₹10 each will include a fixed quota for eligible employees, alongside a discount for those participating in the employee subscription portion, according to the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) filed by the company.

Besides, the company may also consider issuing specified securities up to ₹300 crore as a "pre-IPO placement", it said.

Of the total issue size, up to 50 percent of shares will be allocated to qualified institutional buyers, 15 percent to non-institutional bidders, and the remaining 35 percent will be open for retail subscriptions by individual investors.

The company plans to use the proceeds amounting to ₹793.36 crore for capital expenditure through investment in its wholly-owned subsidiary VSL Green Power Private Limited for setting up a 3,000-MW solar cell and module manufacturing facility.

Additionally, ₹602.95 crore has been earmarked for expanding the existing solar module manufacturing facility from 3,000 MW to 6,000 MW, along with allocations for general corporate purposes.

Vikram Solar commenced its manufacturing journey in 2009 with a capacity of 12.00 MW, expanding to 3.50 GW by the time of the DRHP filing.

According to a CRISIL report, the company holds one of the largest capacities among non-captive manufacturers on the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy's approved list of module manufacturers, with 2.43 GW listed as of July 2024.

Vikram Solar has maintained its position as a Tier 1 manufacturer by Bloomberg NEF since 2014.

The company is actively pursuing expansions to increase production capacity to 10.50 GW by FY26 and 15.50 GW by FY27, including setting up a 3.00 GW solar cell manufacturing plant in Tamil Nadu.

Besides having a presence across 23 states and three Union Territories within the country, Vikram Solar also has a sales office in the US and a procurement office in China, supplying solar PV modules to customers in 39 countries.

With extensive experience in executing EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) projects, it has completed or has been engaged in over 275 projects totalling 1.03 GW capacity as of March 31, 2024.

The company is endorsed by the UN Global Compact and is among the 93 Indian firms approved by the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTI) for its sustainability efforts.

Vikram Solar said it has an order book of 8,214.63 MW as of the date for filing DRHP, significantly exceeding its total rated capacity for FY24.

In 2024, notable contracts included a 397.70 MW project from NTPC Renewable Energy and others, along with a significant 1.00 GW order from a JSW Energy subsidiary.

In FY24, Vikram Solar's revenue grew by 21.11 percent to ₹2,510.99 crore and it recorded over 450 percent jump in its post-tax profit.

J M Financial, Nuvama Wealth Management, UBS Securities, Equirus Capital and PhillipCapital are book-running lead managers, while Link Intime India Private Limited is the registrar for the IPO.