Mumbai, Jan 20, 2026, 14:42 IST
- Advanta, UPL’s seed division, submitted a draft prospectus for an IPO set up as an offer for sale.
- The deal could involve as many as 36.1 million shares, with UPL set to offload up to 28.1 million.
- UPL shares slipped nearly 8% in afternoon trading, trailing behind its sector peers.
UPL Ltd announced that its seed arm, Advanta Enterprises, submitted a draft red herring prospectus to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on Jan. 19. The IPO, planned as an offer for sale, could see up to 36,105,578 shares hit the market, with UPL intending to offload as many as 28,107,578. 1
The filing kicks off SEBI’s review and sets Advanta on course for a formal listing on Indian exchanges. For UPL, it offers a chance to offload part of its stake and establish a clearer market value for the business tucked inside its larger agrochemicals portfolio.
The planned IPO will be purely an offer-for-sale (OFS), with existing shareholders offloading shares and no fresh capital coming into the company, PTI reported. Among the sellers are UPL and investors Melwood Holdings II Pte Ltd and KIA EBT Scheme 2. 2
Advanta offers hybrid seeds and post-harvest solutions, marketing over 900 hybrid seed varieties across 74 countries, alongside its post-harvest unit, Decco, PTI reported. The company’s merchant bankers are JM Financial, Axis Capital, Citigroup Global Markets India, Goldman Sachs (India) Securities, and Morgan Stanley India Company, the report added. 3
UPL shares dropped steadily during trading. By 1:49 p.m. IST, the Economic Times live tracker showed the stock at 722.1 rupees, marking an 8.27% decline for the day. 4
MarketsMojo reported that UPL hit an intraday low of 741 rupees earlier, lagging behind the pesticides and agrochemicals sector, which fell 2.92%. The firm noted that while UPL remains above its 100-day and 200-day moving averages, it is trading below its shorter-term averages — a key technical indicator for trend direction. 5
UPL continues as Advanta’s promoter, though the offer size may shift as regulators review the draft and market conditions evolve. The draft prospectus is just the initial step; pricing and timing will be decided down the line.
However, a sale-only float tends to react sharply to market volatility and investor appetite for fresh shares. “The Offer is subject to receipt of necessary approvals, market conditions and other considerations,” UPL noted in its stock exchange filing. 6
If the deal goes through, investors would gain a standalone public-market view of Advanta, while current shareholders could scale back their stakes. At this stage, the filing marks only the initial step.
