LIC IPO Filing With Sebi Likely Today, Insurance Regulator Clears Draft Papers

New Delhi: State-run insurer Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) is likely to file its Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) for its upcoming initial public offering (IPO) on February 11 (Friday), sources told CNBC-TV18.

In a board meeting on February 9 (Wednesday), the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDAI) had cleared the LIC IPO proposal, according to the report. It said the quantum of divestment and EV numbers will be mentioned in the DRHP, it said.

The central government is considering to sell about 5 per cent of the shares it holds in the LIC as it prepares to file papers, Bloomberg said quoting sources familiar with the matter.

The government plans to offer 31.6 crore shares of the 632 crore shares it owns in the LIC. According to sources, no fresh stock will be issued.

According to a report in Bloomberg, deliberations are still ongoing and details could change.

The embedded value of the state insurer is estimated to be about Rs 5.4 lakh crore ($72 billion), the sources told Bloomberg.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, while presenting the Union Budget for FY22-23, had told Parliament that the LIC IPO is expected shortly.

Bloomberg recently reported that the government is looking for a valuation of $203 billion for the life insurance giant, which will make it the second-largest listed company by market capitalisation.

The government is said to be mulling a two-part IPO of LIC due to apprehensions over the equity market's ability to absorb such a large primary issue at one go.