SBI Funds Management gets Sebi nod for IPO

Mumbai: SBI Funds Management, the country’s largest mutual fund, has received the Securities and Exchange Board of India’s approval to launch an initial public offering (IPO), according to people familiar with the development. The company is likely to launch the public issue early in July, they said.

An email sent to SBI Funds seeking comment went unanswered.

In March, the asset management company filed a draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with Sebi to launch an IPO.

The issue will be entirely an offer for sale (OFS) of 20.37 crore equity shares by existing shareholders-State Bank of India and Amundi India Holding. SBI will sell 12.8 crore shares, and Amundi 7.5 crore shares. The OFS is estimated to represent around 10% of SBI Funds Management’s paid-up equity share capital.

SBI Funds Management is a joint venture between SBI and France-based Amundi, which currently hold a 61.9% and 36.4% stake, respectively.

SBI Funds’ shares traded at around ₹815 apiece in the unlisted market on Friday, valuing the fund house at around ₹1.65 lakh crore. The market capitalisation of ICICI Prudential Asset Management, the country’s second-largest mutual fund house, stood at ₹1.70 lakh crore on Friday.
Kotak Mahindra Capital, Axis Capital, BofA Securities India, HSBC Securities and Capital Markets, ICICI Securities, Jefferies India, JM Financial, Motilal Oswal Investment Advisors and SBI Capital Markets are the book-running lead managers to the issue.