Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (Adia) has joined as an anchor investor in the $1.3 billion initial public offering (IPO) of LG Electronics’ Indian arm, which opens for subscription on October 7.
According to Reuters, the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund invested slightly over INR1 billion ($11.3 million). Other prominent anchor investors include HSBC, BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, and Fidelity Investments. Collectively, anchor investors have secured 30 percent of the 101.8 million shares available in the IPO.
LG, one of India’s leading home appliances and consumer electronics manufacturers, has priced the IPO between INR1,080 and INR1,140 ($12.16–$12.84) per share.
The company, a wholly owned subsidiary of South Korea’s LG Electronics, began accepting anchor investor bids on Monday and is scheduled to list its shares on October 14.
If priced at the upper end of the range, the IPO would value LG’s Indian unit at approximately $8.7 billion — notably lower than the $15 billion valuation initially targeted in December, according to the report.
Adia has been actively increasing its exposure to India. It recently invested in Häagen-Dazs maker General Mills at an $18 billion valuation and participated in the $360 million IPO of Indian electric scooter manufacturer Ather Energy in April.
The fund also set up a dedicated unit in Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (Gift City) last year to consolidate its Indian assets, with plans to gradually transfer its investments to this unit.
In July, Adia acquired a minority stake worth $200 million in Indian medical devices firm Micro Life Sciences (Meril), further strengthening its portfolio in the healthcare sector.
