Uttam Galva Steels today said it has raised Rs 160 crore through placement of shares to qualified institutional investors to fund its expansion and augment long term-resources.

In a filing to the BSE, the company said: “The QIP issue committee of the Board of Directors of the company at its meeting held on March 28, 2013, has issued and allotted 2 crore fully paid-up equity shares at a price of Rs 80 per equity share, aggregating to Rs 160 crore only.”

Consequent to the issue and allotment of the new shares, the issued, subscribed and paid up equity capital of the company has increased from 122.26 crore to 142.26 crore, it added.

The company has earlier fixed the price at Rs 76.48 per share for raising funds up to Rs 175 crore through qualified institutional placement (QIP) route.

Uttam Galva Steels, in which world’s largest steel producer ArcelorMittal holds 33.80 per cent stake, had said earlier that it plans to use the fund for financing several “identified” opportunities for growth.

The company has 10 lakh tonne (LT) cold rolling capacity at its Khopoli plant in Maharashtra and 7.5 LT galvanised steel making capacity. More than half of its revenue, Rs 5,171 crore last fiscal, comes from overseas.

“The company has identified several growth opportunities in its area of business. This capital raising programme is to augment the long-term resources for future expansion, to meet long-term working capital requirement...,” Uttam Galva Steels had said.

The fund could also be used for meeting other general corporate business purposes allied to the business from time to time.

Shares of the company closed today at Rs 74.80 apiece on the BSE, down 2.29 per cent from their previous close.