New Delhi, Mar 14 (IANS): Ruchi Soya shares hit the 20 per cent upper circuit on Monday after the diversified FMCG company announced it will launch its follow-on public offer (FPO) worth Rs 4,300 crore on March 24.

A follow-on offering is an issuance of additional shares made by a company after an initial public offering.

The FPO issue will close on March 28.

In order to comply with market regulator SEBI's requirement of a minimum public shareholding of 25 per cent in a listed business, the company is issuing the additional public offering.

Entire proceeds from the issue will be used for furthering the company's business by repayment of certain outstanding loans, meeting its incremental working capital requirements and other general corporate purposes.

Ruchi Soya's ‘Ruchi Gold' brand is the market leader in branded palm oil and the company is also the pioneer of soya foods in India under the brand name ‘Nutrela'.

At 1.25 p.m., the shares of the firm were locked in the upper circuit at Rs 963.75.