The cut down of LIC's initial public offer (IPO) from 5 per cent of government stake to 3.5 per cent announced earlier this week is due to the ongoing geopolitical tensionsi n Ukraine, Director of Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) Rahul Jain said in a press conference on Thursday. India is gearing up for LIC's IPO – the largest in the history of its public markets – amid uncertain and volatile market conditions.
Jain added that while the government was ready to list LIC by March-end, the Russian war kept them from going ahead. "It didn't make sense to wait for more time since we are not sure for how long will the war go on. Now, we feel is the right time to step into the public market," he said.
“We had anyway stated 5 per cent divestment in the DRHP (draft red herring prospectus), but due to the geopolitical tensions we thought 3.5 per cent would be the right size and got Sebi’s approval to reduce the stake offload from 5 per cent,” Jain said.
Markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) mandates companies with a valuation over Rs 1 lakh crore to divest a minimum of 5 per cent of their equity and Rs 5,000 worth of shares. Sebi made an exception for the insurance giant to update its DRHP.
LIC had on Wednesday set the price band for its IPO at Rs 902 to Rs 949 per share. The IPO will open for subscription on May 4 and close on May 9. It will debut on the bourses on May 17.
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Published 28 April 2022, 17:55 IST