SEBI unveils norms to let InvITs raise capital via preferential issues

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has introduced guidelines that allow listed infrastructure investment trusts (InvITs) to raise capital by way of preferential allotment to institutional investors. InvITs can now allot units to a minimum of two and a maximum of 1,000 investors during a financial year. Such listed trusts will be required to file placement documents with stock exchanges with complete disclosure and material information, besides stating the objective of the fund-raise. The units issued via preferential allotments cannot be priced below the average of the closing high and low prices two weeks preceding the relevant date. The latest move is aimed to boost investments in InvITs and real estate investment trusts (REITs), which have failed to generate investor interest despite several regulatory initiatives.