Appendix 67

 

SEBI (DISCLOSRUE AND INVESTOR PROTECTION) GUIDELINES CLARIFICATION XXVII

 

Clarification No. XXVII, dt. 26‑11‑1999

 

In order to provide the issuer and the lead merchant banker the flexibility of price and demand discovery, SEBI introduced the facility of Book Building for raising capital vide Clarification XIII as modified by Clarifications XVII, XXI and XXIII.

 

SEBI has received representations from the merchant bankers expressing difficulties inter alia, in respect of reservation in the book built portion, disclosure regarding issue size etc.

 

The SEBI Board after duly considering the issues in its meeting held on October 8,1999, has decided to modify the existing guidelines.

 

Accordingly, a Clarification XXVII has been issued pursuant to the aforesaid decision of the Board. A copy of the Clarification is enclosed.

 

Part A of the Clarification modifies the existing book building guidelines as contained in Clarification XXI dated October 27, 1997 read with Clarification XXIII dated February 12, 1999.

 

Part B of the Clarification gives an option to issuer company, inter alia, to offer 15% of the issue size reserved for individual investors bidding upto 10 tradable lots in the book built portion to the public at fixed price.

 

This Clarification is being issued under sub‑section (1) of the Section II of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992.

 

This Clarification shall come into effect from November 26, 1999. The provisions of this Clarification shall also be applicable to the offer documents pending with SEBI.

 

MODIFICATION IN THE EXISTING GUIDELINES FOR BOOK BUILDING GIVEN IN CLARIFICATION XXI READ WITH CLARIFICATION XXIII

 

A company proposing to issue securities to the public through an offer document and availing the book building facility shall have an option either to follow the guidelines pertaining to book building as contained in PART A or PART B.

 

PART A

 

1.         A company proposing to issue securities to the public through the book‑building facility shall follow the existing guidelines as contained in Clarification XXI dated October 27, 1997 read with Clarification XXIII dated February 12, 1999, as modified hereunder.

 

2.         A company proposing to issue securities to the public through the book building facility shall;

 

(i)         disclose in the offer document either the issue size or the number of securities to be offered to the public subject to compliance with the requirement of Rule 19(2)(b) of the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Rules, 1957 as modified from time to time;

 

(ii)        make additional disclosures in the offer document with respect to the arrangements made for meeting the deficit in the means/of financing and the pattern of deployment of excess funds;

 

(iii)       be permitted to fix a minimum bid size for the book built portion

 

(iv)       have the option to fix a date of allotment for book‑built portion which may be prior to the date of allotment for fixed price portion.

 

(v)        Provided that the date of allotment for book built portion shall be deemed to be the date of allotment for fixed price portion for the purposes of dividend and other corporate benefits and the same shall be disclosed in the offer document;

 

(vi)       be allowed to spill‑over excess subscription from the fixed price portion to the book built portion reserved for allocation to individual investors bidding for up to 10 tradable lots, to the extent of shortfall in the latter.

 

3.         The reservation in allocation to individual investors applying up to 10 tradable lots through the Syndicate members shall be with reference to the issue size and not post‑issue capital as given in Annexure III to the Clarification XXI to Disclosure and Investor Protection Guidelines dated October 27, 1997.

 

PART B

 

1.        

(a)        A company proposing to issue securities to public through book‑building facility shall have an option to offer 75% of net public offer for bidding as modified by PART A hereinabove.

 

(b)        The balance 25% of the net public offer shall be made at the fixed price determined by the book‑building exercise.

 

Provided that the allotment and other related requirements as specified for the public issue shall be applicable.

 

2.         A company availing the optional facility may;

 

(i)         graphically display the demand at the end of each day of the bidding period at the terminals for the information of the syndicate members as well as the investors;

 

(ii)        use electronically linked facility for bidding;

 

(iii)       decide the number of bidding centres;

 

(iv)       fix a minimum bid size for the book built portion.

 

3.

(i)         A company availing the optional facility shall make the allotment in respect of the book built portion in dematerialised form only.

 

Provided that the allottees shall have option to rematerialize the securities so allotted, if they so desire.

 

(ii)        The lead book runner shall ensure that a confidentiality clause to the effect that the lead book runner and the issuer company shall not disclose the book to any person (except to statutory authorities if so required by such authorities), is incorporated in the memorandum of understanding entered into between him and the issuer company.

 

4.         A company availing the facility of book building as specified in Part B above, shall comply with all the other requirements mutatis mutandis as given in the Clarification XXI dated October 27, 1997 read with Clarification XXIII dated February 12, 1999 and as modified by Part A of this Clarification. [Issued by SEBI, vide RMB DIP Series Circular No. 4 (1999‑2000), Dt. 26‑11‑1999].