Toyota, i-banks in talks for India IPO

Discussions in early stages, IPO may raise up to $800 mn

- Sneha Shah

Toyota Motor Corp. has hosted Indian investment bankers at its Tokyo headquarters multiple times recently, three people directly aware of the discussions said, as they pitched for a potential listing of its local subsidiary.

The plan is to list Toyota Kirloskar Motor Ltd, the maker of Innova, Fortuner and Camry, to raise around $700-800 million, the people said on the condition of anonymity. If the initial public offering goes through, India will join countries such as the US, UK and Germany where the world's largest carmaker is locally listed. Toyota will also be the second global carmaker to trade on Indian stock exchanges, after Hyundai Motor India Ltd.

"The company is warming up to the plan of listing its India subsidiary," one of the persons cited above said. "Several meetings have been held with the (Toyota) global team that will take the strategic call," he added.