Life Insurance Corp likely to file papers for IPO by November-end

BANKERS TO HOLD IPO ROADSHOWS BY JANUARY-END, AIM TO CONCLUDE THE ISSUE IN THIS FISCAL

Life Insurance Corp of India is likely to file a draft red herring prospectus for the largest initial public offering in Indian equity market by the end of November, a senior finance ministry official said.

"We have recently appointed the merchant bankers and legal advisors who have started the work on the DRHP," the official told Informist. Earlier this month, the government had appointed 10 merchant bankers, including Goldman Sachs (India) Securities, Citigroup Global Markets India, and Nomura Financial Advisory and Securities (India), to manage LIC's offering. Once the draft prospectus is filed, merchant bankers will hold road shows for investors in India and abroad by the end of January, the official said.

"The aim is to bring the IPO within this fiscal as we are working on strict timelines. Missing the deadline will mean redoing a lot of tasks that have already been completed so far," the official said.

The Department of Financial Services is in the process of estimating the embedded value of the life insurer, and once that is done, a ministerial panel will decide the actual stake that will be divested through the IPO, the official said.

Market estimates show the government could garner Rs 600-800 bn by selling 10% stake in the insurer. The government has appointed actuarial firm Milliman Advisors LLP India to compute the embedded value of LIC ahead of the initial public offering.

The government has set an ambitious target of raising Rs 1.75 trillion through divestment in 2021-22 (April-March), more than four and a half times the amount it raised last year.

LAVA Intl files papers to raise Rs 500 crore

Mobile phones maker LAVA International Ltd has filed a draft red herring prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Board of India to raise up to 5 bln rupees through fresh issue of shares.

The face value of the shares is 5 rupees each. The offer also comprises an offer for sale of up to 43.7 mln shares by promoters and other shareholders.

Promoters Hari Om Rai and Shailendra Nath Rai will sell up to 12.5 mln shares and 3.1 mln shares, respectively. Besides, promoters Sunil Bhalla and Vishal Sehgal will sell up to 7.8 mln shares each.