Hyundai Motor has set its sights on a the Indian market, revealing plans to launch an initial public offering (IPO) for its India unit. According to draft papers filed with India's markets regulator Sebi, the company intends to sell up to 17.5 per cent of its stake in Hyundai Motor India, which could potentially become India's largest ever IPO.
The IPO will involve Hyundai Motor offering up to 142 million shares for sale out of a total of 812 million shares. The South Korean automotive giant will not issue new shares as part of this offering. Instead, the IPO will utilise the "offer for sale" route, enabling Hyundai's South Korean parent company to divest a portion of its stake in the wholly owned India unit to retail and other investors.
Hyundai Motor India, currently the second-largest car maker in India following Maruti Suzuki, is set to become the first automotive manufacturer in India to go public in two decades. The last major IPO in the sector dates back to 2003, when Maruti Suzuki took a similar step.
This move by Hyundai points to its ambition to tap into India's robust capital markets and capitalise on growing investor interest in the country's automotive sector. With India being one of the world's largest and fastest-growing automobile markets, Hyundai's IPO could potentially raise substantial funds and pave the way for further expansion and investment in its Indian operations.
