SBI Cards and Payment Plans $1.44 Billion India IPO

By P.R. Venkat

SBI Cards and Payment Services Ltd. is looking to raise $1.44 billion via an initial public offering in India in what would be a bold move in a period of strong market volatility.

India's second-largest credit-card issuer by market share is planning to sell 137.15 million shares at 755 rupees a piece (US$10.18), according to a term sheet seen by The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday. That is at the top end of the indicative INR750-INR755 price range.

The listing plan comes as companies worldwide delay fundraising activities as sentiment is hammered by fears about the coronavirus epidemic's hit to global growth, heightened recently by a crash in oil prices that further jolted markets.

Indonesian carrier Lion Air has slowed down the timeline of its $500 million IPO, people familiar with the situation said, while IndusInd Bank on Monday shelved bond-issuance plans, citing market conditions.

State Bank of India and U.S. private-equity firm Carlyle Group Inc., which are SBI Cards shareholders, plan to sell part of their holdings via the IPO, the term sheet showed.

State Bank of India owns 74% of SBI Cards and Carlyle Group holds 26%, a draft IPO prospectus posted on the Securities and Exchange Board of India earlier this month showed.

Proceeds from the IPO will be used to build SBI Cards' capital base and meet future capital needs, according to the term sheet.

Shares are expected to start trading on the Bombay Stock Exchange on March 16.

Bank of America Securities, HSBC and Nomura are among the banks advising SBI Card on the IPO.

Write to P.R. Venkat at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 09, 2020 21:43 ET (01:43 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.