BackVodafone said to start bank selection process for India unit IPO
Vodafone may sell about 10% of the India business through the share sale, people familiar with the matter said
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Mumbai/Hong Kong: Vodafone Group Plc has started the process of choosing investment banks to arrange an initial public offering of its Indian wireless business, people with knowledge of the matter said.
The Newbury, England-based company has asked interested banks to sign non-disclosure agreements ahead of receiving more detailed information on the India unit and its listing plans, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information is private. It may sell about 10% of the India business through the share sale, two of the people said.
Vodafone may pick advisers by next month, according to two of the people. The offering could value the Indian operations at about $20 billion, people with knowledge of the matter said in October.
An IPO would provide Vodafone with cash while allowing investors to bet specifically on India, where growth is outpacing that of more mature markets such as the UK. Rising wages are helping India, the world’s second-largest wireless market, become one of the fastest growing smartphone markets.
Vodafone chief executive officer Vittorio Colao said in February the company still plans to list its Indian unit, though the process is “complicated" and exact timing is difficult to predict. The company bought billionaire Li Ka-Shing’s mobile-phone business in the country in 2007, a deal that has also resulted in a dispute with the tax authorities.
“We have previously stated 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," Vodafone spokesman Matt Morgan said, declining to comment further. Bloomberg
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