Vodafone Group has begun process for its long-awaited India IPO - inviting banks, including Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, to submit pitches to manage it. It is expected to use the IPO proceeds to buy additional mobile radio waves and expand its operations in India's crowded mobile phone market.
Listing of Vodafone's Indian unit is expected to raise between $2 billion and $2.5 billion, people said, making it the biggest IPO since state-owned Coal India Ltds' $3.5 billion listing in 2010. Other banks that approached the telecom giant included Bank of America Merrill Lynch, UBS Group, and Indian banks like ICICI Securities and Kotak Investment Banking. The selected banks have been asked to submit pitches next week to win underwriting mandated for the stock. Vodafone will most likely pick about half a dozen banks to manage the sale in the next two weeks. The British company said it had started preparations to float its Indian unit, reiterating what it said earlier. “We have previously said that we have started preparations for a potential IPO, which includes private conversations with banks, but this is a lengthy process and no decision will be made until we are at the end of it.”
Goldman Sachs, UBS and Bank of America Merrill Lynch declined to comment. Citigroup, Morgan Stanley and the Indian banks did not respond to requests for comment. Vodafone is expected to use the IPO proceeds to buy additional mobile radio waves and expand its operations in India’s crowded and cut-throat mobile phone market.
