New Delhi, 10/2: India is considering selling about 5 per cent of the shares it holds in Life Insurance Corp. of India as it prepares to file documents for the country’s biggest initial public offering, according to people familiar with the matter.
The government plans to offer 316 million shares of the 6.32 billion shares it owns in Life Insurance Corp. of India, and no fresh stock will be issued, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing confidential information. The draft prospectus is expected to be filed this week, they said.
The embedded value of the company is estimated to be about Rs 5.4 trillion ($72 billion), though officials are still firming up the figures, the people said. The insurer’s board is likely to meet Friday to ratify the decision, one of the people said.