Malpani Group buys majority stake of Imagicaaworld. Stock hits 10% upper circuit

Malpani Group (MPG) on Friday completes the acquisition of controlling stakes of Imagicaaworld Entertainment (Imagicaa). Investors cheered the development as Imagicaa shares froze at the 10% upper circuit on stock exchanges.

As per the regulatory filing, the Maharashtra-based amusement park business, MPG acquired 66.25% stake in Imagicaa through preferential allotment of equity shares worth aggregating to ₹415 crore.

As part of the debt resolution plan, the lenders were allotted equity shares worth ₹75 crore e resulting in a collective shareholding of 11.97% in the Company. The funds infused in the Company by MPG have been used for repayment of debt to Aditya Birla ARC.

That said, the lenders to Imagicaa have completed a debt resolution for ₹575 crore, which includes assignment of their debt to Aditya Birla ARC for ₹500 crore and equity shares by way of conversion of debt aggregating to ₹75 crore by the Company.

Following the deal, three members of MPG - Rajesh Omkarnath Malpani, Manish Madhav Malpani and Jai Manish Malpani, have been inducted on the Board of Imagicaa.

On the acquisition, Malpani Group board thanked shareholders and lenders of Imagicaaworld Entertainment for their confidence in the Group.

Further, the MPG board said, "Going forward, it is this trust that shareholders have reposed in Malpani Group, that has increased our responsibility and we ensure to do our best to create long term and sustainable value for all the stakeholders and society. We would like to congratulate everyone on successful completion of this landmark transaction."

In the transaction, Edelweiss Financial Services acted as exclusive financial advisor to MPG. While Link Legal acted as the Legal Advisor to MPG, EY conducted the financial and tax due diligence and BDO advised on tax matters.

IMAP India acted as the exclusive strategic and financial advisor to Imagicaa while DSK Legal and Crawford Bailey acted as its Legal Advisors.

BOB Capital Markets advised the lenders syndicate led by Union Bank of India.

On BSE, Imagicaa shares closed at the upper circuit of ₹15.88 apiece up by 9.97%.