ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company (AMC) is unfurling its sails for its maiden voyage into public markets—at a Rs 1 lakh crore ($12 billion) valuation no less. The weather seems clear, the lookout screaming “no icebergs ahead”.

After all, this is the country’s second-largest fund house with average assets under management (AUM) of about Rs 9 lakh crore as of March 2025, next only to SBI AMC. After listing, it will join peers run by other financial-services giants HDFC, Nippon, UTI, and Aditya Birla Sun Life. The company has appointed as many as 18 merchant bankersMoney ControlICICI Prudential AMC appoints record 18 merchant bankers for Rs 10,000-crore IPO, a new record for public issues in India.

Many want to be associated with an “ICICI” public issue, even if just for bragging rights. ICICI Prudential AMC will be the fifth company from the group to be listed—after parent ICICI Bank, its life- and general-insurance arms, and ICICI Securities that’s now been, rather controversiallyThe KenICICI Securities has 165,923 shareholders. Its delisting benefits one, subsumed into ICICI Bank again.

The brand’s pull aside, the IPO’s scale seems a big draw.

At a reportedMoney ControlICICI Prudential AMC appoints record 18 merchant bankers for Rs 10,000-crore IPO Rs 10,000 crore, it will count among India’s top 10 public issues of all time. UK-based financial-services giant Prudential Corporation Holdings, the junior partner in the joint venture with ICICI Bank, is selling a part of its holding. It’s putting on the block 17.6 million shares, or 10% of ICICI Prudential AMC’s capital. In fact, this issue is just that—an offer-for-sale by Prudential. The company itself is not raising any capital through a fresh issue. It doesn’t need to.

ICICI Prudential runs India’s most profitable AMC with scorching growth. Its profit of Rs 2,650 crore for FY25 was up 75% over the past two years. It’s churning out big cash and paying out handsome dividends—as much as 70–80% of profits over the past three years. In India’s high-potential mutual-fund industry, ICICI Prudential AMC is in pole position.

Yet, Prudential is selling a partial stake in this goose that lays golden eggs.