Cipla Quality Chemicals is seeking to raise $50 million-$70 million through an initial public offering (IPO) early next year.

The company, which manufacturers anti-retroviral drugs, has appointed Renaissance Capital Ltd of Kenya and Crested Capital of Uganda as transaction advisors and sponsoring stockbrokers respectively, while its prospectus is awaiting legal approval from the Uganda Securities Exchange.

Previous listing plans dating back to 2014 were shelved after shareholder objected to a valuation report done by Stanbic Bank Uganda, terming the $200 million figure given as an undervaluation. However, the company faced new recapitalisation pressures after abandoning the listing plan.

Consequently, it sought a credit line of about $65 million from commercial banks but progress registered on this matter remains unclear.

Whereas details on the proposed share price, number of shares available for sale and the percentage of shares to be floated on the stock market remain a mystery.

The EastAfrican has learnt Cipla of India and a group of local shareholders that founded the company around 2007 have reportedly agreed to sell part of their shares in the firm.

In the IPO, institutional investors will be allocated 80 per cent of available shares — what a local stockbroker termed “an unusually high allotment ratio in USE history.”

A financial analysis report on the company’s performance obtained from foreign investment analysts shows Cipla recorded revenues of $49 million by end of March 31.

The report revealed that 19 million malaria doses were sold while its ARV products were distributed to roughly 250,000 people during the same period.

The number of countries supplied by Cipla Quality Chemicals has increased from one in 2012 to eight by end of the reporting period. The company currently supplies drugs in Uganda and also receives orders from Kenya, Rwanda and Namibia.

The company’s total revenues are projected at $28 million for the first six months of 2017, the report shows.