Surging investor demand, LG Electronics India’s $1.3 billion IPO is fully subscribed within hours of its market debut.
LG Electronics India saw its $1.3 billion initial public offering (IPO) fully subscribed on the first day of bidding on Tuesday, signaling strong investor confidence in the country’s second-largest appliance maker during a busy IPO season. The IPO, which values the company at $8.7 billion at the upper end of the range, comes as Indian listings gain momentum, with firms expected to raise up to $8 billion in the coming weeks.
Bids worth 84.9 billion rupees ($957 million) were received by the end of the first day of the three-day offer, a 1.04 times subscription. Non-institutional investors drove demand, bidding 2.3 times the shares reserved for them, while retail investors subscribed 81% of their allocation. Institutional investors, by contrast, took up 49% of their share as of 4:51 p.m. IST. The IPO will close on Thursday, with trading expected to begin on October 14.
The listing comes after India overhauled its goods and services tax (GST) regime, cutting duties on several high-value appliances, potentially boosting demand in an under-penetrated market. Refrigerators, LG’s top revenue generator, account for just 35% of all appliance sales in India, compared with 100% penetration in markets like the U.S. and China.
LG Electronics India plans to expand its retail presence in smaller towns and broaden its product portfolio. The domestic appliance market, currently worth $38.2 billion, is expected to grow 12% annually through 2029, with competition from Whirlpool (WHR.N) and Samsung (005930.KS). Anchor investors in the IPO include BlackRock and the wealth funds of Singapore and Norway, collectively investing nearly $392 million.
