ICICI Securities Ltd, the stock broking arm of ICICI Bank Ltd, is seeking a valuation of as much as Rs 16,751 crore ($2.6 billion) through its initial public offering that begins next week.
The company has fixed a price band of Rs 519-520 per share for the IPO, ICICI Bank said in a stock-exchange filing.
India’s second-largest private-sector lender will raise about Rs 4,017 crore ($617 million) at the upper end of the band by selling 77.25 million shares, or a 24% stake, in ICICI Securities. The brokerage firm is not selling any fresh shares.
The public issue will open on 22 March and close five days later.
ICICI Bank will get three years from the date of listing to bring its stake down to 75% or below to meet the Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (SEBI) norms of a minimum 25% public float.
The bank had informed the stock exchanges of its plans to take ICICI Securities public in November 2017. The stock broking unit will become the fourth group company to float an IPO.
ICICI Bank had gone public in 1998. Its life insurance arm, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co Ltd, went public in September 2016 through a Rs 6,056-crore ($904 million) public offering.
Its non-life insurance firm, ICICI Lombard General Insurance Co Ltd, went public in September 2017.
VCCircle had earlier reported that ICICI Bank had hired merchant bankers for the IPO.
The company had filed its draft proposal with SEBI on 15 December. It received regulatory clearance for the IPO on 2 February.
Mumbai-headquartered ICICI Securities will join listed peers including Edelweiss Financial Services, Motilal Oswal Financial Services, IIFL Holdings Ltd and Emkay Global Financial Services Ltd.
ICICI Securities
Incorporated in March 1995, ICICI Securities provides institutional and retail broking, merchant banking, and advisory services to corporates, financial institutions, high net-worth individuals and retail investors in India.
Formerly ICICI Securities and Finance Company Ltd, the company also operates ICICIdirect.com, an online broking platform to invest in equity, derivatives, currency futures and mutual funds, among other products. It provides research information, stock picks and mutual fund recommendations.
The company operates out of 66 cities and towns in India. It also has offices in Singapore and New York, according to the company website.
According to its annual report, the brokerage and financial services company had helped four million retail customers with their investments in 2016-17, providing them with research, advisory and execution solutions.
The company’s corporate finance business has also strengthened its equity capital business to lead the IPO markets. In 2016-17, it has managed 12 IPOs with a 57% market share.
ICICI Securities had reported consolidated net profit of Rs 339 crore in 2016-17 compared with Rs 239 crore in the previous fiscal year. The jump in profits was driven by an increase in fee income, offset, in part, by an increase in staff cost and other administrative expenses, the company’s annual report reveals.
ICICI Bank shares on the BSE advanced 0.77% on Wednesday to close at Rs 306.35 apiece. The benchmark BSE Sensex ended marginally down, after recovering most of its intraday losses.
