One of the largest maize-based speciality products manufacturing firm, Ahmedabad-based Sanstar plans to raise ₹510 crore through an IPO and pump in part of the proceeds — ₹180 crore — to expand its manufacturing facility at Dhule in Maharashtra.
“We are adding an additional 1,000 tonnes per day (TPD) capacity to our plant in Dhule. We need ₹200 crore for this expansion. We have already invested ₹20 crore and the remaining ₹180 crore is expected to come from the IPO. We are expecting to operationalise the expanded portion by July 2025,” said Sambhav Chowdhary, Joint Managing Director of Sanstar.
A key supplier to FMCG companies like ITC, Hindustan Unilever, Capital Foods and Godrej Agrovet, the company currently has a cumulative capacity of 1,100 TPD of maize (Kutch and Dhule plants) and after its proposed expansion at Dhule, the total capacity is expected to reached 2,100 TPD. The company manufactures maize starch, dextrin, liquid glucose, high maltose maize syrup, maltodextrin, dextrose monohydrate, sorbitol, gluten, etc. These products are used in the food industry, pharmaceuticals and animal nutrition.
“We are an export-driven company. In the last financial year, we had a revenue of ₹1,100 crore and 35 per cent of it came from exports,” Chowdhary added. The company supplies starch and other products to 49 countries, with Malaysia, Kenya and Vietnam being the top importers. “In the western countries, there is a lot of demand for vegan food and plant-based food products. The raw materials for these products are coming from our industry,” Chowdhary said.
Sanstar said it will also use ₹100 crore from IPO proceeds to pay off its debt. The company currently has ₹140 crore as debt, of which 40 crore is term loan, while the remaining is debt taken for capital expansion. Of the total IPO of ₹510 crore, ₹397 crore will be fresh issue, while ₹113 crore will be offer for sale.