ACME Solar Holdings To Use Banking Proceeds For Debt Repayment And Growth Initiatives

ACME Solar Holdings plans to use the proceeds from its banking operations to repay debt owed by its subsidiaries, according to Ankit Verma, executive vice president of corporate finance at ACME Solar Holdings.

"By reducing our debt, we will be better positioned to grow and execute our planned capital expenditures," he added.

Ankit Verma highlighted that as of June 2024, the company has a consolidated debt of approximately Rs 9,200 crore and a net worth of Rs 1,940 crore. The primary issuance amounts to Rs 2,395 crore, of which Rs 1,795 crore will be allocated to the refinancing of one or more project subsidiaries, he said.

When asked about the business operations of the company, Nikhil Dhingra, chief executive officer of ACME Solar Holdings, said that ACME Solar is an independent power producer specialising in renewable energy, focused on supplying long-term power to government entities.

"We exclusively provide power to government organisations and are an integrated player involved in bidding, financing, and operating power projects," he added.

Nikhil Dhingra mentioned that the renewable energy producer has been in the solar power sector for the past 13 years, emphasising that solar generation is highly predictable.

The company has executed nearly 3.7 gigawatts of solar projects and divested 1.8 gigawatts. Currently, they have energised 1.2 gigawatts of plants in Jaisalmer, he said. ACME Solar Holdings operations span across 12 to 13 states in India.

"Looking ahead, all future projects, amounting to over 2.5 gigawatts post-2025, will be with four central entities, namely Solar Energy Corp. of India Ltd., NTPC Ltd., NHPC Ltd., and SJVN Ltd," he added.

Nikhil Dhingra also emphasised that historically, their capacity was split evenly, with 50% dedicated to state entities and 50% to central ones.

Further, the company is set to open its initial public offering on Nov. 6 and has set the price band at Rs 275–Rs 289 per share. It will not receive any proceeds from the offer for sale.

Nuvama Wealth Management Ltd., ICICI Securities Ltd., JM Financial Ltd., Kotak Mahindra Capital Co. and Motilal Oswal Investment Advisors Ltd. are the leading bookrunners, and KFin Technologies Ltd. is the registrar for the offer.

Out of the total IPO size, 75% is reserved for qualified institutional buyers, 15% for non-institutional investors, and the remaining 10% for retail individual investors.