Pipavav Defence and Offshore Engineering plans to raise $150 million U.S. dollars (roughly Rs 892 crore) by listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) by October 2013, the company said. The capital raised will be invested in two subsidiaries and will also go towards reducing the company’s overall debt.
As of March 31, 2013, the company’s consolidated balance-sheet showed net worth of Rs 2,078 crore while its total long term plus short term debt amounted to Rs 4,486 crore, translating to a debt to equity ratio of 2.2:1.
The subsidiaries of Pipavav Defence aim to build defence manufacturing facilities and infrastructure to meet global demand. It is currently working with 12 countries to build warships and offshore assets and has submitted bids worth $2 billion in various countries with local partners, it said.
Recently, the company had said that the Ministry of Defence had lifted the hold it had placed on its joint venture with Mazgaon Dock Ltd to build warships for the Indian Navy.
At 1:28 pm, the Pipavav Defence stock was down 0.05 rupees or 0.07 per cent, at 67.70 on a day when the broader market (BSE Sensex) was down 140.10 points at 19,208.24.
You can read the announcement here.