SBI Life Insurance has got the final approval from the central board of the State Bank of India to go public. This would make SBI Life India’s second insurer, after ICICI Prudential, to go public,
The State Bank on Monday said it had diluted its stake in the life insurance wing via an IPO. The sectoral regulatory approval is already in place.
The IRDA recently approved the IPO application of Rs 7,000 crore sent by SBI Life. The sale is said to be the largest from an Indian life insurance company ever recorded. Axis Capital, Kotak Investment Bank, BNP Paribas and Citi are working on behalf of SBI Life to manage the IPO.
Final approval from SEBI is however still awaited.
Exactly a year ago, ICICI Prudential went public and fetched a whopping Rs 6,057 crore through its IPO. The current value of the company is Rs. 48,000 crores. SBI Life is the second largest life insurance provider in India after ICICI Prudential and is valued at Rs 46,000 crores. The value is set to increase post the IPO.
SBI Life will send the draft share sale papers to SEBI shortly. This will pave the way for the IPO.