LIC likely to launch its IPO on March 11: Report
The country's largest insurance business, LIC, submitted a draft IPO prospectus with the market regulator in order to sell 5% of the Indian government's holding and possibly raise about $8 billion.
FollowAn $8 billion public offering of shares by India's state-run Life Insurance Corp (LIC) is slated to open for anchor investors on March 11, according to people with direct knowledge of the situation. The book will be offered for bidding by other investors a few days later, according to the sources. The initial public offering (IPO) of LIC is anticipated to receive regulatory permission by the first week of March, following which an indicative marketing price band would be established, according to sources who declined to be identified since the transaction negotiations are confidential.
LIC refused to comment. A representative for the finance ministry did not immediately reply to a request for comment from Reuters. The insurer's IPO will be a litmus test for the depth of India's financial markets, where equity deals for more than a couple of billion dollars are uncommon. Last year, payments startup Paytm had the largest IPO to date, valued at $2.5 billion.
The LIC offering could help calm investors desire for fresh stock offerings since several Indian businesses that floated last year are trading below offer prices due to concerns about expensive valuations and impending interest rate rises by central banks. According to the sources, the IPO launch schedule might vary, but for the time being, the issuer is attempting to achieve those deadlines.
On Sunday, the country's largest insurance business, LIC, submitted a draft IPO prospectus with the market regulator in order to sell 5% of the Indian government's holding and possibly raise about $8 billion. Last month, sources told Reuters that LIC might begin issuing public shares by mid-March. The government is hurrying to complete the IPO by the end of March in order to satisfy its 2021/22 budget deficit target of 6.4 percent of GDP, which is predicated on generating 600 billion Indian rupees ($8.03 billion) from the offering.
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