Insurer LIC’s $2.7 bn IPO subscribed 67% on day 1
MUMBAI: State-owned Life Insurance Corp’s (LIC) $2.7 billion IPO, India’s largest, was subscribed 67% on the first day of bidding, even as a surprise rate hike by the RBI roiled markets.
Investors bid for 108.7 million shares on Wednesday, compared with the total 162.1 million shares on offer, with the portions reserved for employees and policyholders already oversubscribed, exchange data showed
The demand for LIC’s IPO came even as the stock market fell 2.3% after the Reserve Bank of India unexpectedly hiked interest rates to tame inflation.
“Considering the size of the issue, the demand seems to be quite good,” said Yesha Shah, head of equity research at Samco Securities. “While the RBI rate hike has affected the market sentiment overall, we think it will have a limited impact on the LIC IPO ... because of the company’s decent fundamentals, attractive pricing and valuation.”
The Indian government expects to raise up to $2.7 billion, just a third of its original target, from selling a 3.5% stake in the country’s top insurance company, giving it an initial value of $78.52 billion.
The subscription, set to close on May 9, is offering a discount to employees and retail investors of ₹45 per share. LIC policyholders will be offered a discount of ₹60 per share.
“There could be some impact on listing gains, but we still feel the IPO will fly through. The real test will be on Thursday when we should see the entire impact of the rate hike in markets,” Shah said.
The portion set aside for policyholders was subscribed 1.99 times at the end of bidding on Wednesday, employees by 1.17 times and retail investors by 0.6 times. “Compared to private players, LIC’s targeted valuation at 1.1 times its embedded value offers a significant discount, which will be a comfort for investors,” said Sneha Poddar, research analyst at Motilal Oswal Financial Services.
The price range for the issue has been set between ₹902 and ₹949 per share.
After a reservation for employees and policyholders, the remaining shares will be allocated in a ratio of 50% to qualified institutional buyers, 35% to retail investors and 15% for non-institutional investors.
LIC shares were trading in the “grey” market at a premium of ₹95, around ₹1,044 apiece.