Led by strong demand from qualified institutional buyers (QIBs), the initial public offering (IPO) of SBI Funds Management, India's largest asset management company, was subscribed 41.66 times on the final day of bidding. According to BSE data, the Rs 9,813-crore IPO received bids for 518.95 crore equity shares worth nearly Rs 3 lakh crore against 12.45 crore shares on offer.
The QIB portion was booked 140.11 times on the final day of bidding, a sharp jump from 0.08 times subscription on Day 1 and 1.50 times booking on Day 2. The non-institutional investor (NII) category was subscribed 22.51 times and the retail individual investor (RII) portion was booked 3.60 times. The employee portion received 4.65 times subscription and the shareholder reservation portion was booked 9.52 times.
The strong demand for SBI Funds’ IPO comes as its unlisted shares continue to remain in high demand in the unofficial grey market despite weakness in the broader equity market amid changing geopolitical cues. India’s equity market benchmarks- BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty – settled flat on Thursday due to continued weakness in the Indian rupee and elevated Brent crude oil prices.
According to market platform IPOwatch, unlisted shares of SBI Funds Management are commanding a grey market premium (GMP) of Rs 95 per share, indicating a potential listing gain of 16.5% over the upper end of the price band.
The IPO is a complete offer for sale by existing shareholders - State Bank of India (SBI) and Amundi India Holding. SBI, the country’s largest lender, is divesting up to 12.83 crore equity shares, representing a 6.3% stake, while Amundi India Holding is selling up to 7.56 crore shares, equivalent to a 3.7% stake.
The issue size was earlier planned at Rs 11,693 crore, but was reduced after SBI last week raised Rs 1,655 crore from a group of investors. SBI Funds has fixed the IPO price band at Rs 545–Rs 574 per equity share.
“At the upper price band, the company is valuing at P/E at 38.1x and EV/EBITDA of 33.6x with to its FY26 earnings and market cap of Rs 116,913.9 crore post issue of equity shares. We believe that the IPO is fully priced and recommend a “Subscribe” rating to the IPO,” said brokerage firm Anand Rathi in a note.
Analysts at Ventura said that SBI Funds benefits from a strong SIP franchise, with 16.21 million live SIPs, monthly SIP inflows of around Rs 4,060 crore and SIP assets under management of nearly Rs 1.73 lakh crore as of March 31, 2026. They stated that the partnership with Amundi strengthens SBI AMC’s investment, technology and international capabilities.
