LIC IPO subscribed 1.2 times on Day 3; booking open on Sat, Sun

The initial public offering (IPO) of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has been subscribed 1.25 times on the third day of the public issue so far, the data available on the National Stock Exchange shows. The policyholder quota has been subscribed a maximum of 3.70 times so far, followed by the employees' quota at 2.79 times.

The quota for retail individual investors has been subscribed 1.12 times already. Non-institutional investors and qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) quotas have been filled 0.60 and 0.53 times, respectively. Bids for 13,61,71,290 shares have been placed at the cut-off price, while bids for 20,19,71,205 shares have been placed at Rs 902.

The LIC public offer, which carries a price band of ₹902-949 apiece, is set to close on May 9. In an otherwise unusual move, the IPO issue will accept bids even on Saturday (May 7) and Sunday (May 8), shows a notification on the NSE.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in a notification, has requested all bank branches designated to process ASBA (application supported by blocked amount) applications be kept open to the public on May 8, 2022 (Sunday). "The matter has been examined and it has been decided that banks may keep all their ASBA designated branches open on May 8, 2022 (Sunday) to facilitate bidding for LIC IPO," says the RBI in a notification.

Analysts see this as a move to garner maximum investors in the country's biggest IPO to date.

The IPO was fully subscribed on Day 2. The policyholder and employees' quota was subscribed 2.82 and 1.96 times, respectively. Retail individual investors' quota was subscribed 0.85 times. On Day 1, the IPO was booked 67%, while the quota reserved for policyholders and employees was fully subscribed on the first day itself.

The anchor book was subscribed 77.41% and 45,899,955 shares were allocated to the portion, raising Rs 4,355.9 crore, the NSE data shows. The LIC share allotment is expected to be done on May 12, while shares are likely to list on the BSE and the NSE on May 17.

The government aims to raise around ₹21,000 crore by selling a 3.5% stake in the company. The IPO is completely an offer for sale (OFS), which will see the government selling 22.13 crore (2,21,374,920) shares of ₹10 face value.

The company is offering a discount worth ₹45 per equity share to retail and eligible employee categories and ₹60 per equity share to the policyholder category. Bids can be placed for 15 equity shares and in multiples thereof, with a maximum subscription amount for retail investors, employees and policyholders at ₹2 lakh.