India's largest IPO, Hyundai Motor gets Sebi green light for Rs 25,000-cr issue

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has approved Hyundai Motor India's ₹25,000-crore initial public offering (IPO) - the country's largest ever, according to investment bankers.

The country's second-largest carmaker had filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the regulator in June. The public issue will consist entirely of an offer-for-sale (OFS) of up to 142.2 million shares, representing a 17.5% stake, by its South Korean parent, Hyundai Motor Co. Bankers have indicated the IPO is likely to be launched by November.

Hyundai's valuation is seen at around $18 billion, or ₹1.45 lakh crore. India's largest passenger car company, Maruti Suzuki, is valued at ₹4 lakh crore. The other two automakers Mahindra & Mahindra and Tata Motors are valued at ₹3.84 lakh crore and ₹3.55 lakh crore, respectively.

In 2023, India accounted for 13% of Hyundai Motor's global unit sales and contributed 6% to the group's revenue and profit.

Hyundai's India unit had a market share of 14.5% in FY24 in the passenger car segment compared with Maruti Suzuki's 41.7% and 13.8% of Tata Motors, as per Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) data.

Hyundai's proposed IPO is likely to break all records. The ₹21,008-crore public issue of state-owned Life Insurance Corp of India, launched in May 2022, is India's largest IPO to date. In November 2021, Paytm parent One 97 Communications raised ₹18,300 crore, while in April, Vodafone Idea raised ₹18,000 crore through a follow-on public offering (FPO).

Earlier this week, Sebi also approved the public issue of food and grocery delivery platform Swiggy. The size of the IPO for the Bangalore-based startup is expected to be between $1.25 billion and $1.4 billion, according to investment banking sources. Swiggy had filed its draft papers for the IPO with the market regulator through the confidential filing route in April this year.