Govt Appoints SBI Caps, Deloitte As Pre-Listing Advisers For LIC IPO: Report

The Indian government has approved the appointment of SBI Capital Markets Ltd and Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India Ltd as pre-IPO transaction advisors (TAs) for the initial share sale of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), said a Bloomberg report citing sources close to the matter.

The advisers will help evaluate the capital structure of the largest insurer in the country as well as aid the company in reworking its financial statement, according to a tender document issued in June inviting bids for pre-IPO TAs. The government will soon invite bids seeking firms to value LIC, the Bloomberg report said citing unnamed sources.

According to another report by Moneycontrol, there were five players in the running to be appointed TAs for the initial public offering (IPO), namely Deloitte, Citi, Credit Suisse, SBI Capital and Edelweiss Financial Services, but Edelweiss had voluntarily withdrawn from the shortlisting on concerns of a possible conflict of interest.

The government's decision to divest in LIC through an IPO was first announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman at the Union Budget presentation in February. The government owns 100 percent stake in the company and is expected to sell 8 to 10 percent through the IPO, which will still be significant for the biggest insurance business in the country.