Goldman Sachs Group Inc, JPMorgan Chase & Co and ICICI Securities Ltd were among banks picked to work on Life Insurance Corp of India’s (LIC) initial public offering (IPO), in what is set to be the nation’s biggest listing.
Kotak Mahindra Capital Co, JM Financial Ltd, Citigroup Inc and Nomura Holdings Inc were also selected to work on the share sale that is slated for early next year, after 16 investment banks presented their pitches to the government, people with knowledge of the matter said, asking not to be identified because the information is not public.
Banks would start engaging with investors from next month, with a potential listing expected between January and March next year, one of the people said.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government is pushing ahead with LIC’s IPO to help plug a widening budget gap. The government is expected to dilute as much as 10 percent of its stake in the country’s largest insurance company as part of a broader divestment target.
India might also allow foreign direct investment in LIC to ensure a diversified and strong demand across investors.
“The timeline looks tight given that almost half the year is gone,” said Karthik Srinivasan, senior vice-president at ratings assessor ICRA Ltd. “Several variables need to come together including a conducive external condition, regulatory changes to insurance laws, understanding LIC’s business.”
Still, “with the world awash with liquidity and only a few listed insurance companies in India, unlike banks where there are plenty of choices, we should see good demand for the IPO,” Srinivasan said.
The listing could value LIC at as much as US$261 billion, analysts at Jefferies India led by Prakhar Sharma wrote in a note in February.
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