SBI Funds Management plans IPO filing by mid-February, listing by April
SBI and Amundi will divest shares, with market conditions influencing the final listing timeline.
SBI Funds Management, India’s largest asset manager, is expected to file its draft prospectus for an initial public offering (IPO) with the market regulator by mid-February, with a listing likely by April, said three people aware of the discussions.
Investment bankers have made presentations and pitched for an IPO of $1.2 billion-1.4 billion, valuing the company at $12 billion-14 billion, they said. SBI Funds Management is a joint venture between India’s largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) and French asset manager Amundi. While SBI holds a 61.9% stake, and Amundi 36.4%, the remaining is held by employees and other individuals.
In November, SBI and Amundi announced their decision for a public listing in 2026, subject to approvals and market conditions. India's public sector behemoth will sell 6.3% and Amundi will sell 3.7%, taking the total to 10%.
SBI Funds managed average assets worth ₹12.5 trillion as of 31 December. The company reported a net profit of ₹2,531 crore in FY25, as against ₹2,062 crore in the previous financial year.
“The target is to file draft papers by February, by the middle of the month or at least the third week and then open the IPO in April but it will depend on a host of factors," one person said.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India usually takes two-three months to approve an IPO—it varies from case to case and therefore it is difficult to say with certainty when the listing will open, the person said.
“The prevailing market conditions will also have to be considered before hitting the markets," the person said.
The final details are being worked out, a second person said. The stake sales by SBI and Amundi are to meet regulatory requirements during the IPO.
Valuation exercise
SBI Funds Management hired SBI Capital Markets, Kotak Mahindra Capital, Axis Bank, ICICI Securities, JM Financial, Motilal Oswal, Bank of America, HSBC and Jefferies to manage the issue.
“Different merchant bankers have presented different valuations, and the final valuation will be an exercise conducted closer to the filing. The bankers will now have to work with a valuation agency and also internally look at how the final valuation will look like," the person said.
Emails sent to SBI, SBI Funds Management, SBI Capital Markets, Axis Capital, JM Financial, Kotak Mahindra Capital Co. and ICICI Securities remained unanswered. Amundi, HSBC, and Bank of America spokespersons declined to comment. Jefferies declined to comment.
India’s IPO market has been on a tear, with companies making the most of domestic demand for shares. According to data from Prime Database, 103 companies sold ₹1.76 trillion of shares through IPOs in 2025, as against 91 companies tapping the market for ₹1.6 trillion in 2024.
Rival fund manager ICICI Prudential Asset Management’s $1.2 billion IPO hit the streets last month and the company is now valued at over $14 billion. Canara Robeco Asset Management Co. Ltd was listed in October, following the government’s push to public-sector banks (PSBs) to list their subsidiaries to unlock value, Mint reported on 6 November.
However, reports indicated that pricing has been a point of conflict between SBI Funds and bankers looking to manage the proposed transaction. Bloomberg reported on 7 January that some of Wall Street’s biggest banks have opted out of advising on a planned public offering. It said that Citigroup Inc., which was part of the initial list of mandated advisers, pulled out over fees, citing people who did not want to be identified while discussing private matters.
The report added that SBI Funds replaced Citigroup Capital Markets with Jefferies Financial Group. JPMorgan Chase & Co. also decided not to pursue the transaction after pitching due to similar reasons.
Investment banks generally take on lower remunerative mandates for either relationships with the clients or for league table mentions.
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