SBI Life Insurance, which is going to come up with an initial public offer (IPO), said the company will focus on protection products, including critical illness. "Recently, we had launched a 'Sampoorn Cancer Suraksha,' which is a critical care product.

Going forward, we are planning to bring out more protection products, including critical care plans," SBI Life Insurance Managing Director and CEO Arijit Basu told reporters here. He said, this is pure divestment, and at this moment the company has adequate capital, which is sufficient for the next three years. "The capital requirement is adequate, and we will not require any more funds for the next three years. This is pure divestment," Basu added. ICICI Lombard IPO: Know The Details

SBI Life, which holds 20 per cent market share of the private life insurance business in the country, will more or less maintain 50:50 balance of market-linked and traditional product portfolio. State Bank of India chief Arundhati Bhattacharya, who was present on the occasion, said the funds raised will go back to the promoters.

"The capital raised will go back to the promoters. This will enhance SBI's brand name and provide liquidity to the existing shareholders," she added. When asked about listing of other subsidiaries, Bhattacharya said, SBI will not take that long to unlock the value of any other subsidiaries. "Yes, we have taken 23 years to come back to the market again. But I can assure you it won't take that long for the next of our offspring to come to the market," she added. SBI Life To Hit Primary Market With One Of The Biggest IPO

The private insurer will hit the capital market on September 20, to raise up to Rs 8,400 crore. The initial share sale offer will open on September 20 and close on September 22, SBI said in a regulatory filing to the stock exchanges. This would be the second listing of a life insurer after ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, which went public last year. The price band for the offer as decided by SBI Life and the selling shareholders, in consultation with the lead managers, has been fixed between Rs 685 to Rs 700 per share of Rs 10 each.

At the upper end of the price band, the company will raise Rs 8,400 crore. SBI Life's public issue involves its promoters offloading up to 12 crore shares of face value of Rs 10 each through the offer of sale route, as per the draft offer documents. State Bank of India (SBI) will dilute up to 8 crore shares while BNP Paribas Cardif SA will offload up to 4 crore. SBI Life Insurance is a joint venture between India's largest lender SBI and BNP Paribas Cardif (BNPPC) the insurance-holding company of France. SBI holds 70.10 per cent in SBI Life and BNPPC 26 per cent. Minority shareholders Value Life Pte, an affiliate of KKR Asian Fund and MacRitchie Investments Pte, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Temasek Holdings, hold 1.95 per cent each.

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