LIC IPO Likely To Open On May 4, Close On May 9: Report

LIC IPO: The government is planning to sell 3.5 per cent stake in the state-owned LIC.

The logo of state-owned Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) (Getty Images)

Source : Getty Images

New Delhi: The much-awaited initial public offering of the country's largest insurer Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) will open on May 4 and close on May 9, PTI reported quoting sources.

The IPO is likely to fetch Rs 21,000 crore to the exchequer. The government is planning to sell 3.5 per cent stake in the state-owned LIC. The IPO values LIC at Rs 6 lakh crore.

In February, LIC had filed draft papers with Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) wherein it had said that the government would sell 5 per cent stake or 31.6 crore shares in the insurer.

READ | Sebi Likely To Exempt LIC From Mandatory 5 Per Cent Float In IPO

However, the IPO plans were thrown out of gear due to the ongoing volatility in stock markets due to Russia-Ukraine war, forcing the government to cut the issue size to 3.5 per cent.

According to international actuarial firm Milliman Advisors, LIC's embedded value, which is a measure of the consolidated shareholders value in an insurance company, was pegged at about Rs 5.4 lakh crore as of September 30, 2021.

LIC IPO will contribute a major chunk to the budgeted disinvestment proceeds in the current fiscal.

The government has pegged disinvestment receipts at Rs 65,000 crore in the current fiscal, up from Rs 13,531 crore raised in the last fiscal.

According to a CNBC TV18 report, Sebi is considering an exemption sought by the Central government from compulsory 5 per cent listing of the LIC on float, while the Centre will not launch a follow on public offer (FPO) with the capital market regulator for a year after listing.

According to guidelines by the Sebi, firms cannot carry out a FPO for six months after an IPO.

(With PTI inputs)