Sime Darby hires banks for $500m autos IPO

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 12 (Reuters): Malaysian plantations-to-motoring group Sime Darby has hired four banks to arrange a stock market listing for its autos business that could raise $500 million by the second quarter of next year, sources familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

CIMB Investment Bank, Deutsche Bank, Maybank Investment Bank and Morgan Stanley are working on the initial public offering (IPO), the sources said.

"The deal could be bigger, it depends on the valuation at that point of time," one of the sources said.

Sime Darby, the world's top palm oil planter by landbank size, had invited banks to pitch for the IPO mandate last month.

The autos division has a presence in six countries including China and Australia, distributing mostly high-end marques including the likes of Jaguar and Ferrari, and accounted for nearly 37 percent of group revenue in the financial year to June 30.

Shares of Sime Darby ended 0.21 per cent lower at 9.49 ringgit on Tuesday, giving the conglomerate a market capitalisation of about $18 billion.