SBI Funds Management Ltd. is set to begin formal marketing as early as next week for its planned initial public offering to raise as much as $1.5 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.
India’s largest asset manager is aiming to sell about three quarters of the issue to domestic investors and is also considering raising as much as $350 million through a pre-IPO share placement, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information is private. The company is in discussions with bankers on the plan, the people said.
SBI Funds is seeking a valuation in the range $13-15 billion, the people said. That compares with rival ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co.’s market value of about $17.6 billion, following the $1.2 billion listing of India’s second-largest asset manager in December.
Deliberations are ongoing and details of the offering, including size and timing, could change, the people said. A representative for SBI Funds didn’t respond to requests for comment.
SBI Funds has appointed nine banks, including Kotak Mahindra Capital Co., Axis Bank Ltd., SBI Capital Markets Ltd., JM Financial Ltd. and HSBC Holdings Plc, to manage the offering, according to the draft prospectus.
SBI Funds, which oversees assets of about ₹1248 crore, according to data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India, is jointly owned by State Bank of India Ltd. and Amundi SA. While State Bank of India plans to offload as many as 128.3 million shares, or 6.3% of the total equity capital in the IPO, Amundi will sell as many as 75.4 million shares, or 3.7%, according to the prospectus. The sale will have no fresh issuance.
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