(Bloomberg) -- India is considering seeking around 500 billion rupees ($6.6 billion) next month from the initial public offering of state-owned Life Insurance Corp., people with knowledge of the matter said.
The government is discussing selling as much as a 7% stake in LIC through the listing, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. It aims to launch the share sale before current approvals for the offering expire on May 12, the people said.
If successful, the insurance firm would surpass digital payments startup Paytm as India's biggest IPO of all time, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The offering of One 97 Communications Ltd., the operator of Paytm, raised about 183 billion rupees in November last year.
Bloomberg News first reported last month that India was targeting a May timeline to launch the IPO. The listing forms a key part of plans by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration to divest state assets to fund a yawning budget deficit.
The government and its advisers are considering seeking a valuation of about 1.25 to 1.5 times LIC's embedded value, the people said. Officials are still discussing potential terms of the offering, and the fund-raising target could still change, the people said.
A representative for LIC declined to comment, while calls and an email to the finance ministry spokesperson remained unanswered.
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