ICICI Bank''s Rs8750 crore issue subscribed over two times
20 Jun 2007
Mumbai:
The Rs8,750 crore ($2.1 billion) domestic issue of
ICICI Bank, India''s largest private sector bank, was fully
subscribed within an hour of opening the issue on June
19.
By 2 p.m., the share sale, the largest in India, had received
bids for at least Rs17,100, or 193 million shares, data
posted on the National Stock Exchange web site showed.
With large funds vying for access to the private sector
lender that is viewed as a pace-setter in the country''s
financial sector, investors poured nearly two times into
the $2.1 billion worth of shares being sold to domestic
investors.
A similar-sized share sale in the US with a 15 per cent
green shoe option by ICICI, which is listed both in Mumbai
and New York, could push the total size of the fundraising
to $4.9 billion
With assets of more than $79 billion -- behind only the
public sector State Bank of India -- ICICI built its business
by aggressively chasing consumer loans when India opened
its economy in the 1990s and spurred rapid economic growth.
The bank has set an indicative price band of Rs885-950
a share, with retail investors getting a Rs50 discount
to the final price that will be fixed after the issue
closes.
The company is selling 19-20 per cent of its expanded
share capital to fund loan growth while maintaining its
capital adequacy ratio.
ICICI
is about 72 per cent owned by overseas investors. Temasek
Holdings Pte Ltd., a Singapore state-owned investment
company, and Government of Singapore Investment Corp.
together hold 9.61 per cent of its shares, according to
the bank''s documents.
Merrill Lynch & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. are
selling shares locally and abroad. Enam Financial Consultants
and JM Financial Consultants are helping with the local
sale.
