LIC Stake Sale: Govt to Offload 6.5% Stake at ₹382/Share, Aims to Raise ₹31,000 Crore

The Union government will sell up to a 6.5% stake in Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) through a two-day offer for sale (OFS) beginning Tuesday, August 4, 2026. The floor price has been set at ₹382 per share, which represents a 10% discount over Monday's closing price of ₹424.35 on the BSE.

The OFS will open for non-retail investors on Tuesday, August 4, and for retail investors on Wednesday, August 5. The government has offered to disinvest 2.5% equity initially, with an additional 4% as a green shoe option, according to Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) Secretary Arunish Chawla.

If fully subscribed, the sale of over 82.22 crore shares, or a 6.5% stake, at the floor price will fetch about ₹31,000 crore to the disinvestment kitty. This will mark a significant step towards meeting the minimum public shareholding norm set by market regulator Sebi.

The stake sale will help LIC achieve the minimum 10% public shareholding requirement ahead of the May 16, 2027 deadline given by Sebi. Currently, the government holds a 96.5% stake in LIC. In May 2022, the government had sold a 3.5% stake through an initial public offering (IPO) at a price band of ₹902-949 per share, raising about ₹21,000 crore.

LIC, which has a market capitalisation of over ₹5.36 lakh crore, saw its shares settle at ₹424.35 on Monday, August 3, down 0.12% over the previous close on the BSE.

So far in the current fiscal year, the government has mobilised ₹21,082 crore through stake sales in seven public sector undertakings and remittances from SUUTI (Specified Undertaking of the Unit Trust of India). The upcoming OFS is expected to substantially boost the disinvestment proceeds for the year.