RIL to use 75% of Rs 53,000 crore rights issue to repay debt

Billionaire Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), which has been on a fundraising spree even during the coronavirus pandemic, will use three-fourth of proceeds from its much-awaited rights issue for repaying some of its borrowings, as per the offer document filed with exchanges. The company expects to raise Rs 53,036.13 crore from the rights issue that opens on May 20 and closes on June 3.

Of Rs 53,036.13 crore from the rights issue, "Rs 39,755.08 crore would go towards repayment/ prepayment of all or a portion of certain borrowings availed by company," the oil-to-telecom major said in its offer document. The remaining Rs 13,281.05 crore would be used for general corporate purposes, it added.

The rights issue, which comes after a gap of nearly three decades, offers one new share for every 15 shares held in the company. The issue price has been fixed at Rs 1,257 per share as compared to the current market price of Rs 1,408 per share. The company proposed to issue 42,26,26,894 equity shares at a face value of Rs 10 each.

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Shareholders interested in subscribing to the issue will have to pay 25 per cent on application and the rest in one or more tranches. The total amount payable per rights equity share on application is Rs 314.25 - face value of Rs 2.50 and a premium of Rs 311.75.

RIL has reportedly appointed nine investment banks to manage its upcoming rights issue, including Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Kotak Mahindra Capital, JM Financial, Axis Capital and ICICI Securities.

Also Read: RIL's Rs 53,000 cr rights issue opens May 20; should you subscribe?

Ahead of its rights issue, Reliance Industries has raised Rs 67,194.75 crore by selling 14 per cent stake in Jio Platforms to multiple investors including social media giant Facebook, Silver Lake, Vista Equity Partners and General Atlantic in last one month. These deals coupled with the right issue will help RIL to become a zero-debt company by the year-end. As on March 31, 2019, RIL had a net debt of Rs 1.53 lakh crore.