Lodha Developers defers IPO amid market turmoil

The mayhem in the stock market has forced realty developer Lodha Developers to delay its proposed initial public offer (IPO), said two persons with direct knowledge of the development. The real-estate developer, which has got capital market regulator Securities & Exchange Board of India’s approval for the IPO in July, is yet to take a call on the timing of the issue. Lodha had filed its draft red herring prospectus for the issue in April. This is the second time that the Mumbai-based developer has filed papers for an IPO. The company had filed a prospectus with Sebi in September 2009, but had to withdraw it owing to weak stock market conditions then. Over the past one month, benchmark indices Nifty and Sensex have declined 7.9 per cent and 7.8 per cent, respectively, while BSE Realty Index has slipped over 19 per cent. A series of defaults, delayed payments of debt by the group companies of IL&FS following rating downgrades for IL&FS has triggered liquidity concerns resulting in stock market meltdown. With its size pegged at about Rs 5,500 crore, this would have been be the second-biggest real estate IPO in the country after realty major DLF raised around Rs 9,200 crore through its IPO in 2007.