The Centre has successfully completed its Offer for Sale (OFS) in Life Insurance Corporation of India, raising Rs 31,552 crore after exercising the entire green shoe option following strong demand from retail and institutional investors.
Now the public shareholding in LIC has increased to 10%, allowing the insurer to meet the minimum public shareholding (MPS) requirement well ahead of the regulatory deadline.
In a post on X on Wednesday, the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) said the OFS was oversubscribed on both days of bidding and that 82.23 crore shares had been allocated. The transaction, worth Rs 31,552 crore, is now the largest public offering in India's capital markets.
Offer for Sale in the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) closed with an overwhelming response from both retail and institutional investors. The issue was over-subscribed on both days and the Government exercised its entire green shoe option. With this the public ownership… pic.twitter.com/TQZNQhfi3X
— Secretary, DIPAM (@SecyDIPAM) August 5, 2026
The government thanked investors for their participation, saying the strong response reflected confidence in LIC and the country's disinvestment programme.
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The OFS opened for non-retail investors on August 4, while retail investors were allowed to bid on August 5. The Centre had initially offered to sell a 2.5% stake, with an additional 4% green shoe option that could be exercised in case of strong demand. The floor price for the issue was fixed at Rs 382 per share.
The robust subscription enabled the government to fully exercise the green shoe option, increasing the total offer size and helping LIC achieve the mandated 10% public float ahead of schedule.
Under SEBI's minimum public shareholding norms, listed companies are required to maintain at least 25% public shareholding, although LIC had been granted a phased timeline after its 2022 listing. The latest OFS takes the insurer to the interim 10% milestone well before the May 2027 deadline.
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