Govt to sell up to 6.5% in LIC at `382/shr; to add `31K crore to disinvestment kitty

PTI New Delhi

The government will sell up to a 6.5% stake in Life Insurance Corporation at a floor price of ₹382 per share through a two-year offer for sale beginning on Tuesday.

The issue opens for non-retail investors on Tuesday and for retail investors on Wednesday. If fully subscribed, the sale of over 82.22 crore shares or a 6.5% stake at the given floor price will fetch about ₹31,000 crore to the disinvestment kitty.  

"Government offers to disinvest 2.5% equity with an additional 4% as a green shoe option," Department of Investment and Public Asset Management Secretary Arunish Chawla stated in a post on X.

The floor price is at a 10% discount over Monday's closing price of Life Insurance Corporation shares of ₹424.35 on the BSE. The stake sale will help the insurer achieve the minimum public shareholding requirement mandated by market regulator Sebi ahead of schedule. Sebi had given Life Insurance Corporation time till May 16, 2027, to achieve a minimum 10% public shareholding. At present, the government holds a 96.5% stake in Life Insurance Corporation. It had earlier sold 3.5% through an initial public offering in May 2022.