SEBI (Securities & Exchange Board of India) has given its approval to IPO of SBI Life Insurance worth up to ₹8400 crores ($1.3 Billion). The launch of IPO is expected to take place on September 20th. The launch date will be subjected to an approval by Registrar of Companies and can be scheduled a few days later to the expected date.
With this IPO, SBI Life Insurance will be listing 120 million secondary shares. The listed equity capital accounts for 12% of SBI life insurance. Out of the 120 million shares, SBI will sell 80 million whereas, BNP Paribas Cardif will sell 40 million shares. SBI currently owns 70.1% of SBI Life Insurance, whereas, BNP Paribas holds 26% stake.
This IPO will mark only the second Life Insurance company to be listed on Indian Stock exchanges after ICICI Prudential. According to reports, HDFC has also been targeting the listing of its insurer arm, however, a final decision about the issue size has not been taken yet.