Vodafone picks banks for India IPO

SINGAPORE/HONG KONG: British telecoms operator Vodafone has picked Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BofA), Kotak Investment Banking and UBS as joint global coordinators of its Indian unit´s IPO, people familiar with the matter said, kicking off its long-awaited listing plan.

The IPO is expected to raise between $2 billion-$2.5 billion, Reuters previously reported, which, at the upper end, would make it India´s biggest stock market listing since state-owned Coal India Ltd raised $3.5 billion in 2010.

Deutsche Bank, HSBC and ICICI Securities have won joint book-runner roles, the people added, declining to be identified as the information is not public.

Vodafone is likely to launch the IPO early next year, they said.

The deal offers a rare opportunity for international banks in a market where equity capital raisings worth more than $1 billion are uncommon and where stock underwriting fees are amongst the lowest in the world. Vodafone said in November it had started preparations for floating its Indian subsidiary.

IFR, a Thomson Reuters publication, said in a report the IPO is expected to raise $2 billion-$3 billion.