A $15 Billion Valuation - Can SBI Funds Management Pull Off India’s Largest AMC IPO?

The planned public offering may assign SBI Funds a valuation of up to 15 billion. (Image Source: Times Now Digital) India’s largest asset manager, SBI Funds Management Ltd., is preparing to take a major step toward the public markets. The company may file draft documents for an initial public offering as early as next month, according to a Bloomberg report citing people familiar with the development. If completed as planned, the share sale could become the biggest-ever listing by an asset management company in the country. Sources indicated in the report that the draft red herring prospectus could be submitted in the first half of March. The offering is expected to raise up to $1.5 billion, although final details are yet to be locked in. Targeting A $15 Billion Valuation The proposed IPO could value SBI Funds at as much as $15 billion, one of the people said in the report. That would place it slightly below ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co., which is currently valued at about $16.7 billion after raising $1.2 billion in a December listing. Even at that level, SBI Funds’ offering would rank among the largest public issues in India’s financial services space in recent years. However, discussions remain ongoing, and the size, structure, and timing of the IPO could still change, as noted in the report. IPO Plans Amid Cooling Market Sentiment The potential listing comes at a time when India’s IPO market has lost some of its earlier momentum. After two years of record-breaking capital raising, equity market volatility has dampened investor appetite and pressured valuations, states the report. Recent public issues, including those of Aye Finance Ltd. and Fractal Analytics Ltd., reportedly saw muted demand, reflecting the more cautious environment. Against this backdrop, SBI Funds’ proposed float will be closely watched by market participants for signals about institutional and retail investor sentiment. Strong Parentage And Advisory Line-Up SBI Funds currently manages assets worth Rs 12.5 trillion. The firm is jointly owned by State Bank of India and Amundi SA, which last year announced plans to divest a combined 10 per cent stake via a public offering. To steer the share sale, the company has appointed a consortium of leading investment banks, including Kotak Mahindra Capital Co., Axis Bank Ltd., SBI Capital Markets Ltd., Motilal Oswal Investment Advisors Ltd., ICICI Securities Ltd., JM Financial Ltd., and the local units of HSBC Holdings Plc, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. and Bank of America Corp. Citigroup Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. had earlier opted out of advising on the transaction due to fee-related considerations. Investments in securities are subject to market risks. These are indicative and should not be interpreted as investment advice or guaranteed returns. Get Latest News live on Times Now along with Breaking News and Top Headlines from Business, Companies and around the world. Latest News Priya Raghuvanshi author She is working as a Chief Copy Editor at Times Now’s Business Desk, where she covers key developments in the stock market, Indian corporates across se ... View More News Business Markets End of Article