Ahead of IPO launch, LIC to hold press conference today

New Delhi: Ahead of the Life Insurance Corporation of India's forthcoming Initial Public Offering (IPO), India's largest ever IPO, on May 4, the LIC is set to hold a press conference here on Friday.

The much-awaited issue of the LIC IPO is set to open on May 4 and will remain open for bidders till May 9, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey said.

The government, which wholly owns the insurance behemoth, plans to sell a 3.5 per cent instead of 5 per cent as mentioned in the previous Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP), said sources.

LIC has cut the size of IPO from 5 per cent to 3.5 percent due to the market condition. A proposal to reduce the size of LIC's IPO to 3.5 percent from 5 percent proposed in its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) was tabled and approved at a board meeting held on Saturday.

The insurance company has set its price band for the Initial Public Offer (IPO) at Rs 902 to Rs 949 per equity share. The size of the LIC IPO is set to be the largest so far in the country.

The government targets to raise Rs 20,557.23 crore by offloading 3.5 per cent of its equity stake or 22.13 crore shares of LIC.

This is substantially lower than the earlier projection of about Rs 60,000 crore. The IPO will be a pure offer for sale.

Out of the 22.13 crore shares offered for sale, around 5.93 crore shares have been reserved for the anchor investor portion.

Employee reservation portion is at1.58 million while policyholder reservation is at 22.14 million.

Half of the shares are reserved for qualified institutional buyers (QIB), 15 percent of the shares will be reserved for non-institutional investors while the rest is for retail investors.

Policyholders will get a discount of Rs 60 per equity share. Retail and employees will get a discount of Rs 40. Last month, market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) approved the initial public offering proposal of LIC.

The company has filed the Draft Red Herring Prospectus with the market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). It has time until May 12 to launch the IPO. If it is not done by May 12, the company would be required to file fresh papers with the market regulator.

The government had initially wanted to list LIC in the last financial year that ended March 31 but had to delay the sale after the Russia-Ukraine war triggered a market rout.