Biggest ever: LIC IPO to open on May 4 with Rs 902-949 price band

Insurance giant LIC has fixed the price band at Rs 902-949 per share for the Rs 21,000 crore public offer, likely to open on May 4.

According to sources, Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) would offer a Rs 60 discount for policyholders and Rs 40 for retail investors and employees.

The issue is likely to open for subscription on May 4 and is expected to close on May 9.
In February, the government had planned to sell s 5 per cent stake or 31.6 crore shares of the insurance behemoth and had filed draft papers with Sebi.

However, the IPO plans faced headwinds due to the ongoing market volatility amid the Russia-Ukraine war.

Also Read: In two minds about LIC IPO? Here’s a SWOT analysis

Last week, the government decided to lower the issue size to 3.5 per cent.

LIC is India’s biggest insurance company, easily dwarfing its private sector peers. In FY20, it was estimated to have a market share of 69 per cent. Of every four life policies sold in India, three are LIC’s. According to an Edelweiss report, LIC collected first-year premiums of ₹1.78 trillion in FY20, an increase of 25.2 per cent over the previous fiscal.

The PSU insurer manages assets of nearly ₹40-lakh crore, which is greater than the entire amount managed by India’s mutual fund industry, according to media reports.

The government holds a roughly 95 per cent stake in LIC at present, which offers the firm a lot of stability. Even with the government selling over 31 crore shares in the IPO, its residual stake in it is big enough to offer comfort to investors. Further, LIC is a trusted entity that has been operational for nearly seven decades.

(With Agency inputs)