LIC Increases Stake In SBI To 9.49%, Mops Up Rs 5,000 Crore Worth Of Equity

Life Insurance Corp. purchased approximately 6.12 crore shares in State Bank of India for around Rs 5,000 crore on Monday, according to an exchange filing.

LIC increased its stake in the firm to 9.49% from 9.21% via a subscription to the qualified institutional placement issue. The shares were bought for an issue price of Rs 817 apiece.

This transaction was undertaken by the insurance firm for the purpose of long-term investment, as per the filing.

The shares will be credited by July 23 and the listing will commence on July 24.

SBI closed its QIP on Monday, raising over Rs 25,000 crore from institutional lenders. The committee of directors also met on Monday and sanctioned up to 30.6 crore equity shares for Rs 817 apiece. This included a premium of Rs 816 with the face value of Re 1.

Shares of LIC closed 0.63% higher at Rs 1,155.90 apiece on the NSE, compared to a 0.49% rise in the benchmark Nifty. The stock has fallen 17.40% in the last 12 months and risen 4.05% on a year-to-date basis.

Out of 22 analysts tracking the company, 17 have a 'buy' rating on the stock, four recommend 'hold' and one suggests 'sell', according to Bloomberg data. The average of 12-month analysts' price target implies a potential upside of 15.8%.