Waaree IPO Subscribed over 76 Times, Proceeds to Partly Fund 6 GW Odisha PV Plant

Waaree Energies, a major Indian Renewable Energy, predominantly solar equipment manufacturer, had rolled out its IPO which was open from 21st to 23rd October 2024. The IPO saw considerable response, and it was subscribed 76.34 times.

Waaree Energies’ issue had a size of Rs. 4,321.44 crore, and it comprised 2.4 crore fresh shares and 0.48 crore existing shares. The fresh shares amounted to Rs. 3,600 crore, whereas the existing shares aggregated to Rs. 721.44 crore. Face value of each of the shares was Rs. 10.

IPO Gets Massive Response: 97.34 Lakh Applicants, IPO Subscribed over 208 Times by QIBs

Waaree Energies’ IPO compelled a flood of investors, with the issue prompting a total of 97.34 lakh applicants to participate.

Considering the different class of investors, Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIBs) warmed up the most to Waaree Energies’ IPO, and subscribed to the issue 208.63 times. Non-Institutional Buyers (NIIs) were next, subscribing to the issue 62.49 times, whereas retail investors subscribed to the IPO 10.79 times. Waaree’s employees subscribed to the IPO 5.17 times.

Proceeds to Fund 6 GW PV Plant, General Corporate Purposes

Waaree’s Upcoming 6 GW Integrated Solar Equipment Plant

Waaree Energies’ Red Herring Prospectus (RHP) states that one of the objectives of this IPO is to partly fund the development of a 6 GW ingot, wafer, solar cell and module plant in Odisha’s Dhenkana district. This plant is being developed by a 100% subsidiary of Waaree Energies, Sangam Solar One Private Limited.

It is to be noted that Waaree will utilise proceeds from only the freshly issued shares for this purpose. About Rs. 27,750 crore will be utilised from the IPO proceeds over the course of FY-25 to FY-27 towards establishing this plant. About Rs. 2,750 crore will be invested in this plant during FY-25, followed by a Rs. 20,000 crore investment in FY-26, and finally by a Rs. 5,000 crore investment by Waaree Energies towards the project in FY-27.

It is to be noted that this plant will be coming up at a total cost of about Rs. 90,499.59 crore, and as on 31st August 2024, Rs. 1,466.70 crore has been utilised in this project. Waaree Energies seeks to fund the remaining cost of this project from its internal accruals (about Rs. 6,102.89 crore) and from debt (Rs. 55,180 crore).

In its RHP document, Waaree Energies stated that its upcoming plant in Odisha will help the company “to backward integrate our operations”, improve “profitability” and will aid in “de-risking the supply chain as well as lower our dependence on imported components”.

Waaree Energies’ upcoming plant in Odisha began production of solar modules on 31st July 2025, whereas solar cell production at the plant is set to begin by 30th April 2026. Solar ingot and wafer production will commence at the plant by 31st October 2026.

Part of IPO Proceeds to Go towards General Corporate Purposes

Apart from this, not more than 25% of the gross proceeds from the issue will be utilised by Waaree Energies for ‘general corporate purposes’. “The allocation or quantum of utilisation of funds towards the specific purposes described above will be determined by our Board, based on our business requirements and other relevant considerations, from time to time”, stated Waaree Energies’ RHP document.

Specifics of Waaree Energies’ Issue

As mentioned already, Waaree Energies’ IPO consisted of fresh and existing shares. Shareholders who had offered their shares for sale were Waaree Sustainable Finance Pvt. Ltd. and Chandurkar Investments Pvt. Ltd., which offered 43,50,000 shares and 4,50,000 shares respectively.

Shares were offered in a price band from Rs. 1,427 to Rs. 1,503 apiece, and the minimum lot size had been specified as 9 shares, translating to an investment of Rs. 13,527. Minimum amount of investment required by retail investors was specified as 1 lot, whereas it was 15 and 74 lots for small NIIs (sNIIs) and big NII (bNIIs) respectively.

Out of the total shares, anchor investors were offered 29.55%, whereas QIBs were allotted 19.7% of the shares. NIIs (sNII and bNII taken together) were offered 14.77% of the issue, while 34.77% of the shares were open for retail investors. Apart from this, 1.5% of the shares were open to Waaree’s employees.

About Waaree Energies: Waaree Energies was established in 1990, and today, it is India’s largest solar module manufacturer in terms of volume with an annual production capacity of 12 GW. In FY-24, the company earned a revenue of Rs. 11,632.76 crore, and a Profit After Tax (PAT) of Rs. 1,274.38 crore.