LIC IPO Date: The government has time till May 12 to bring LIC’s IPO without filing new documents with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi). This IPO was scheduled to come in March itself, but it was postponed due to the Russia-Ukraine crisis.
New Delhi: The wait to invest money in the country’s biggest IPO is about to end. The government may take a decision this week regarding the date of the initial public offering (IPO) of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC). A senior official has given this information. The sale of five per cent stake or 316 crore shares in LIC was earlier scheduled to take place in March but was postponed in view of geopolitical tensions. The government has time till May 12 to bring LIC’s IPO without filing fresh documents with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi).
Time till 12th May
An official said, “A decision on when to go for the IPO is likely to be taken this week.” The underlying value of LIC has been worked out by global rating firm Milliman Advisors. The underlying value of the company as on September 30, 2021 was Rs 5.4 lakh crore. The underlying value is arrived at on the basis of the integrated value of the shareholders in the insurance company. If the government is not able to bring the IPO by May 12, then it will have to file fresh papers with SEBI stating the December quarter results.
It’s not easy to set a date
The official further said that it is not easy to decide the IPO launch date. “It is difficult to decide whether to go with retail and domestic investors or wait for geopolitical tensions to subside and FIIs back in the market,” he said. This IPO was scheduled to come in March itself, but it was postponed due to the Russia-Ukraine crisis. The success of LIC’s IPO is very important for the government, as the government wants to achieve its disinvestment target through this.
Biggest IPO in Indian History
With the sale of five per cent stake, the LIC IPO will become the largest IPO in the history of the Indian stock market. Once listed in the market, the company’s market capitalization will be close to that of giants like Reliance (RIL) and TCS. The biggest IPOs so far include Paytm (18,300 crore), Coal India (15,500 crore) and Reliance Power (11,700 crore).
