Hyundai Motor Gets Sebi Nod For India's Biggest IPO

Hyundai Motor India (HMIL), the Indian arm of South Korean auto manufacturer Hyundai Motor Co, is on track to introduce its USD 3 billion initial public offering (IPO) with a company valuation of approximately USD 20 billion after securing approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi). The company filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) in June, with reports indicating that the IPO will go live in October.

If successful, this will become India’s largest IPO, surpassing the Rs 21,000 crore (USD 2.7 billion) sized IPO of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) in 2022. The offering will be a pure offer-for-sale (OFS) by Hyundai’s promoter, targeting a valuation of USD 18 billion to USD 20 billion.

The DRHP highlighted the objective of the offer as the sale of up to 142,194,700 equity shares of face value Rs 10, aiming to enhance Hyundai’s visibility, brand image, and provide liquidity in India's public market.

Hyundai, India’s second-largest carmaker after Maruti Suzuki, has been a dominant player in the passenger vehicle segment, with a cumulative sale of nearly 12 million vehicles domestically and internationally since 1998. The company has also been the country's top exporter of passenger vehicles since Fiscal 2005.

Citi, HSBC Securities, JP Morgan, Kotak Mahindra Capital and Morgan Stanley are the i-banks advising on the transaction with law firm Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas acting as the company counsel, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas as the banks' counsel and Latham and Watkins acting as the international counsel.