Fund-raising via rights issue doubles to Rs 8,785 cr

Fund-raising by Indian firms through rights issue doubled to Rs 8,785 crore in the first 10 months of this fiscal, indicating growing traction among domestic firms to mop up fresh capital. The largest rights issue was from Tata Motors which raked in Rs 7,498 crore. Most of the funds were raised for expansion, debt repayment and working capital needs. In the rights issue mode, shares are issued to existing investors at a pre-determined price, normally at a discount, in proportion to their holdings. Firms garnered Rs 8,785 crore during April-January period of the current fiscal, about double the Rs 4,402 crore raised in the year-ago period, according to latest data with the Securities and Exchange Board of India. Eleven firms took this route to mobilise funds in 10 months, as against 14 in the April-January period of the 2014-15 fiscal. In addition, B N Rathi Securities Ltd, JMC Projects (India) Ltd, Ashima Ltd, Everlon Synthetics Ltd, Hydro S&S Industries Ltd and Universal Cables Ltd were among those which raised funds through the rights issue.