Hyundai Motor India initial share sale from October 15, fixes price band

HYUNDAI Motor India Ltd (HMIL), the Indian arm of South Korean automaker Hyundai, on Wednesday said it has fixed a price band of Rs 1,865-1,960 per share for its ₹278.70 billion (£2.54bn)initial public offering (IPO) that opens for subscription on October 15.

This would be the largest IPO in India, surpassing state-run insurer Life Insurance Corporations's (LIC) initial share sale of ₹210 billion (£1.91bn). The government raised $2.7 billion by selling a 3.5 per cent stake.

HMIL's initial share-sale will conclude on October 17 and the bidding for anchor investors will open for a day on October 14, the company announced.

The proposed IPO is entirely an offer-for-sale (OFS) of 142.2 million shares by promoter Hyundai Motor Company, with no fresh issue component.

Investors can bid for one lot of seven shares, followed by multiples of seven thereafter.

Half of the IPO has been reserved for institutional investors, while 15 per cent of the issue has been reserved for non-institutional investors, and 35 per cent for retail investors.

This development marks a significant milestone for the Indian industry, as it is the first initial share sale of an automaker in over two decades, following Japanese carmaker Maruti Suzuki's listing in 2003.

The South Korean parent is diluting some of the stake through the OFS route. Since the public issue is completely an OFS, Hyundai Motor India Ltd, the second largest carmaker in India, after Maruti Suzuki India, will not receive any proceeds from the IPO.

HMIL stated that it expects that the listing of the equity shares "will enhance our visibility and brand image and provide liquidity and a public market for the shares".

At the upper end of the price band, the IPO size has been pegged at ₹278.70 billion and the company's market valuation at around ₹1.6 trillion (£14.57bn) post-issue.

HMIL commenced operations in India in 1996 and is selling 13 models across segments.

The South Korean company is one of the few foreign automotive giants to make a mark in India, with US rivals Ford and General Motors both failing to crack the local market.

The IPO launch comes at a time when the primary market is experiencing strong interest from both issuers and investors across various sectors.

Moreover, 63 companies have already mobilised around ₹640 billion (£5.83bn) collectively via mainboard, marking a 29 per cent increase from ₹494.36 billion (£4.50bn) collected by 57 firms through the route in the entire 2023.

The strong momentum in IPO markets is driven by several key macroeconomic, sector-specific factors and willingness of funds to look at new ideas which is partially led by strong inflows into domestic mutual funds as well as the robust capital formation across corporate India, experts say. (Agencies)