The initial public offering of SBI Funds Management, India's largest asset management company, has opened for ordinary investors today, and the buzz around it was building well before the doors swung open. Even ahead of its listing, the issue is creating a stir in the grey market, where the company's unlisted shares are changing hands at a premium of roughly 17 percent.
Marquee investors open their wallets
A day before the retail portion went live, the company mopped up ₹2,662.96 crore from anchor investors, and the anchor book reads like a who's who of global finance. BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, along with the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology were among the 129 big names that picked up shares. These anchor investors were allotted 4.63 crore equity shares at the upper price band of ₹574. Besides foreign investors, 23 leading mutual fund houses also put money into the offering, a sign of how deep the institutional appetite runs.
Price band and key dates
The company has fixed a price band of ₹545 to ₹574 per share for the issue. Investors can place their bids between 14 July and 16 July. Through this IPO, SBI Funds Management is looking to raise a total of ₹9,812.9 crore from the market. Notably, the entire issue is an offer for sale (OFS). In plain terms, that means all the money raised will flow to the two promoters, SBI and Amundi, and the company itself will not receive any fresh capital. In other words, this is a chance for existing shareholders to trim their stakes rather than a route for the company to raise new funds.
A strong grey market signal
The shares are drawing a warm response in the unlisted market. Right now they are trading at a premium of ₹100 in the grey market, which points to a possible listing-day gain of around 17 percent for investors. That said, it is worth remembering that the grey market premium is only an indication. There is no guarantee the stock will actually list in line with those numbers, so it should not be treated as a firm yardstick for any decision.
Should you put your money in?
Brokerages are leaning positive on the issue. Swastika Investmart has assigned it a 'Subscribe' rating, while Axis Capital also sounds upbeat. According to the brokerages, based on estimated earnings for the 2026 financial year, the IPO is available at a price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple of 36.1 to 38.1. That valuation works out cheaper than those of its rivals ICICI Prudential AMC, Nippon Life India AMC and HDFC AMC, and it is this lower pricing that makes the offer look all the more attractive.
