Solar91 Cleantech IPO: The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on Monday postponed the public offer of the SME IPO Solar91 Cleantech, which was scheduled to open for investors tomorrow, citing complaints raised by the media.
In a circular today, the BSE said, ‘This is with reference to the IPO of Solar91 Cleantech Limited, for which the anchor book is scheduled to open today. It is hereby notified that, in view of certain queries raised by complainants in the media, the matter requires further examination. Pending further examination, the IPO bidding for anchor investors today and for the public tomorrow is postponed until further notice.”
Exchanges have been implementing stricter measures for SME IPOs to reduce manipulation, as these offerings have fewer disclosure requirements and are vetted by the exchanges themselves, unlike larger IPOs, which must be approved by SEBI.
Earlier, the NSE implemented a 90% listing cap on SME IPOs and recently, SEBI tightened rules for the SME segment.
Solar91 Cleantech is engaged in providing EPC solar energy Solutions to commercial and industrial customers to offset their power consumption through renewable energy sources. The company builds, operates, and maintains grid-connected and off-grid solar power projects for its customers.
The IPO size is ₹106 crore, and the price band for the issue was set between ₹185 and ₹195 per share.
More strict rules for SME market
The capital markets regulator, SEBI, on December 18, introduced a set of measures aimed at enhancing the SME IPO market quality, ensuring transparency, and safeguarding investor interests.
These revised regulations are designed to tackle issues related to governance, fund utilisation, and transparency, which have surfaced in the rapidly growing SME segment.
As per the updated norms, companies planning to list on SME exchanges must demonstrate an operating profit of ₹1 crore in at least two out of the last three financial years. Additionally, the regulations limit selling shareholders to offloading no more than 50% of their holdings during the IPO process.
SEBI has also tightened the rules on the usage of IPO proceeds. Funds raised through IPOs can no longer be utilised to repay loans taken from promoters, directors, or related parties, ensuring that the proceeds are directed towards business growth and development.
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