LIC sets IPO issue price at Rs 949; govt raised Rs 20,560 crore. Shares to list on May 17

Bolstered by strong demand for its initial public offer, state-run insurer Life Insurance Corporation has priced the IPO at the upper band of issue of Rs 949 per share, allowing the promoter — Government of India— to raise Rs 20,560 crore or $2.7 billion through the public share sale. The government set a price band of Rs 902-949-a-share for the issue that opened for subscription from May 4-May 9. LIC shares are expected to list on bourses on Tuesday, May 17.

India’s biggest IPO was fully subscribed on the second day of bidding on Thursday. The issue was subscribed 2.95 times and the QIB portion saw 100% bids on the final day of subscription.

Addressing a press conference after the final day of LIC IPO, DIPAM Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey said, "This issue has shown that our capital markets and our investors also have the capacity...We can't depend only on foreign institutional investors. FIIs are also welcome, but predominantly this issue has been domestically lifted."

Through the public issue, the government divested 3.5% in the state-run insurance behemoth. The retail investors and eligible employees got a discount of Rs 45 per equity share, while policyholders got a discount of Rs 60 per share.

LIC reduced its IPO size to 3.5 per cent from 5 per cent decided earlier due to the prevailing choppy market conditions. Even after the reduced size, LIC IPO is going to be the biggest initial public offering ever in the country. So far, the amount mobilised from the IPO of Paytm in 2021 was the largest ever at Rs 18,300 crore, followed by Coal India and Reliance Power.