The Centre is reportedly planning to sell a 2 per cent stake in the Life Insurance Corporation of India to institutional investors as early as late June or early July, potentially raising up to ₹10,000 crore ($1 billion), according to Bloomberg. LIC's stock closed at ₹830.20, down 2.89 per cent on the NSE, after falling as much as 4.22 per cent intraday on the prospect of equity dilution.
According to Bloomberg, which cited people familiar with the matter, the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM), under the Finance Ministry, is working with Goldman Sachs, Motilal Oswal Investment Advisors, BNP Paribas, and IIFL Capital Services to manage the transaction.
The government and LIC did not immediately respond to Bloomberg's requests for comment, and the timing and size of the deal could still change.
The planned sale follows LIC's landmark IPO in May 2022, when the government sold a 3.5 per cent stake for approximately ₹21,000 crore, with shares priced at ₹949 each.
Since then, the Centre's holding has remained at 96.5 per cent as of 31 March, according to exchange data. LIC has until May 2032 to comply with SEBI's mandate requiring a minimum 25 per cent public shareholding, making periodic stake sales an inevitability.