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Deutsche Bank, HSBC, UBS reportedly among six banks chosen for 2.1 billion offering.
Vodafone has made further progress to launching an initial public offering of its Indian arm, with reports claiming it has picked six banks to manage the process.
Anonymous sources cited by a Business Standard report late last week claimed that Deutsche Bank, HSBC, and India’s ICICI Securities have been chosen as the lead bookrunners, while Bank of America Marrill Lynch (BofAML), UBS and Kotak Securities – the stock-broking arm of Mumbai’s Kotak Mahindra Group – will coordinate the offering.
The IPO is expected to raise 165 billion rupees (€2.15 billion).
The news comes after Bloomberg reported in early April that Vodafone was lining up banks for its forthcoming India IPO, and that it would make a decision by May.
"The issue is targeted for the last quarter of 2016," said one of the sources, in the Business Standard report. "It is expected to be a combination of offer-for-sale and issuance of fresh equity," with Vodafone diluting its stake in Vodafone India by 10%. Vodafone currently owns 100% of its Indian subsidiary.
Vodafone CEO Vittorio Colao told reporters at Mobile World Congress in February that an IPO in India could happen either late this year or in 2017.
