Bharat Highways InvIT files draft papers with Sebi to raise ₹2,000 crore via IPO

“Bharat Highways InvIT, an infrastructure investment trust established to acquire, manage and invest in portfolio of infrastructure assets in the country and other activities under the SEBI InvIT Regulations has filed its DRHP with the regulator on Dec 21, 2022 to raise an aggregate amount of ₹2,000 cr via an issue of units to the public,” the company said in a release.

The issue will be made through the book building process wherein 75% excluding the strategic investor portion will be available to institutional investors and 25% to non-institutional investors.

The net proceeds are proposed to be utilized towards providing loans to the Project SPVs for repayment/ pre-payment, in part or in full, of their respective outstanding loans (including any accrued interest and prepayment penalty); and for general purposes. The Units are proposed to be listed on NSE and BSE.

The sponsor to the issue, Lokesh Builders Pvt Ltd, part of the GR Group, will subscribe to 15 per cent of the total post-issue unit capital of the InvIT in order to comply with the sponsor lock-in requirements, post which the issue size will be reduced.

GRIL, a BSE and NSE listed enterprise, is the flagship entity of GR Group and is engaged in integrated road engineering, procurement and construction with an experience of over 25 years in design and construction of various road/highway projects across 16 states in India and more than 100 road construction projects executed since 2006.

Bharat Highways InvIT was set up in August 2022 to acquire 100 per cent stake in each of Project SPVs from GR Infrastructure Ltd including GDDHPL, wherein the InvIT proposes to initially acquire 49 per cent stake.

Its assets will comprise of seven HAM road assets namely Phagwara Expressway, Porbandar Dwarka Expressway, Gundugolanu Devarapalli Highway, Akkalkot Solapur Highway, Varanasi Sangam Expressway, Sangli Solapur Highway, Dwarka Devariya Highway spanning 497.29 kms across Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh pursuant to concessions granted by NHAI. Currently the assets are owned by GRIL, an associate of the sponsor.

The total income of the SPV Group for the financial years ended March 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020 was ₹447.23 crore, ₹160.01 crore, ₹217.03 crore and ₹309.27 crore, respectively. Projected cash flows for FY23, FY24 and FY25 is estimated to be ₹473 crore, ₹958 crore and ₹942 crore respectively.

The development of infrastructure sector has been a priority area for the government and has witnessed enhanced public investment over the years. India has the second largest road network in the world, spanning a total of 6.37 million kms

ICICI Securities, Axis Capital, HDFC Bank and IIFL Securities are the book running lead managers to the issue.