LG’s India IPO is said to attract Abu Dhabi, Norway, Singapore wealth funds

The South Korean company will start taking orders from public investors on Tuesday and is expected to be listed on local bourses on Oct 14

The sovereign wealth funds of Abu Dhabi, Norway and Singapore and global money managers, including BlackRock and Fidelity International, participated in the anchor share sale of LG Electronics’ Indian unit ahead of the start of the bidding period for its initial public offering (IPO).

Investment bankers working on LG Electronics India’s US$1.3 billion IPO allocated 30.5 million shares to the anchors at 1,140 rupees each, the top of the marketed range, raising 34.7 billion rupees (S$505 million), according to an exchange filing.

Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Norges Bank Investment Management and GIC participated in the anchor share sale, the filing shows, confirming an earlier Bloomberg News report. The offering also saw strong participation of domestic mutual funds and insurers.

India’s largest fund managers, including SBI Mutual Fund, ICICI Prudential Asset Management and Nippon Life India Asset Management also invested in the offering.

The listing of the South Korean company’s unit would cap a nearly yearlong process since its December filing, that has seen delays amid market volatility and global trade uncertainty. An IPO at the top of the price range would value the India unit at US$8.7 billion, significantly below the US$15 billion it sought in December.

LG is tapping the market in what is set to be a record month for Indian IPOs, with proceeds expected to cross US$5 billion in October. A successful deal would further raise confidence that India’s US$5 trillion stock market can absorb large deals even as US tariffs and weak earnings have left equities trailing other Asian markets this year.

LG will start taking orders from public investors on Tuesday (Oct 7) and is expected to be listed on local bourses on Oct 14. BLOOMBERG