Mumbai-Based Developer Set For India's Second-Biggest Property IPO

Macrotech, which built the Trump Tower in Mumbai, will be the biggest Indian developer to try to list since DLF Ltd. went public in 2007.

Macrotech Developers Ltd. will sell Rs 2,500 crore ($341 million) of shares next week in India's second-largest initial public offering from a real estate firm. This is the Mumbai-based company's third regulatory approval to list since 2009 and the latest attempt comes as it needs cash to help repay debt. Macrotech, formerly known as Lodha Developers, has set a price of Rs 483-486 and the issue will run April 7-9, according to a newspaper advertisement Thursday. A successful share sale will be key to pare the Rs 18,660 crore of total debt outstanding at the end of 2020. Founded by billionaire and lawmaker Mangal Prabhat Lodha, scrutiny has been piling on the firm following rating downgrades deeper into junk territory in recent years. Macrotech skirted a default on its dollar bonds about a year ago. The company's high leverage means it has "little to no ability to absorb any shocks of unforeseen events," said Aditya Kondawar, chief operating officer at JST Investments in Mumbai. "In such a scenario where the balance sheet is stressed and where many listed players are available with a crystal clean balance sheet, we feel the issue is a clear avoid."