LG Electronics India starts taking bids for US$1.3 billion IPO
The South Korean parent is offering as many as 101.8 million shares of LG Electronics India at 1,080 rupees to 1,140 rupees each
[MUMBAI] LG Electronics’ Indian unit started taking orders for its US$1.3 billion initial public offering on Tuesday (Oct 7), joining Tata Capital to launch deals in what could be a record month for new listings in the country.
The South Korean parent is offering as many as 101.8 million shares of LG Electronics India at 1,080 rupees to 1,140 rupees each. That would value the company at as high as 774 billion rupees (S$11.3 billion), making it the largest home-appliance maker listed in India. The shares are expected to begin trading on Oct 14.
The share sale, which comes a day after Tata Capital started taking orders for its US$1.7 billion IPO, signals growing confidence that investor demand can absorb large issuances despite the headwinds facing the local stock market. All in all, Indian IPO proceeds could climb to a record in October, exceeding US$5 billion.
At the start of a three-day bidding process, the LG India IPO drew bids for 30 per cent of the shares on offer as of 11.55 am in Mumbai, according to exchange data. Tata Capital’s IPO was subscribed 50 per cent by that time on its second day.
The wave of new listings in India has also been powered by a gush of liquidity coming from domestic institutional as well as retail investors. Local investors have ploughed money into Indian stock funds every month in recent years, with flows into recurring investment plans topping US$3 billion in most months of 2025.
“IPO activity shows the faith markets have in the Indian economy,” Sundararaman Ramamurthy, chief executive of BSE, operator of the country’s oldest bourse, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. Pipeline for future listings remains strong and the resurgence in IPO activity will continue, he said.
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LG India is set to become the fourth billion-dollar IPO in India this year after HDB Financial Services, Hexaware Technologies and Tata Capital, which is scheduled to begin trading on Oct 13.
Sovereign wealth funds including Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Norway’s Norges Bank Investment Management, and Singapore’s GIC, along with global money managers such as BlackRock and Fidelity International, participated in LG India’s anchor share sale.
India’s largest fund managers, including SBI Mutual Fund, ICICI Prudential Asset Management and Nippon Life India Asset Management also invested in the offering.
“We need supply because money coming via mutual funds is creating demand for new listings,” said Varsha Valecha, senior vice-president of investments at portfolio management firm Chanakya Capital in Mumbai.
LG’s planned Mumbai listing would cap a nearly yearlong process since its December filing, which faced delays amid market volatility and global uncertainties. The company has significantly lowered its valuation from the US$15 billion it initially sought.
The offering still values LG India’s shares at 38 times its trailing 12-month earnings, according to Choice Equity Broking analyst Rajnath Yadav. In comparison, its parent trades at about 14 times, while local peers Havells India and Voltas trade at more than 50 times, data compiled by Bloomberg showed.
Axis Bank, along with the Indian units of Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Citigroup, helped arrange the LG share sale. BLOOMBERG
