Earlier, LIC had got a one-time exemption to meet a 25% minimum public shareholding within 10 years by May 2032 of its listing in May 2022. The government divested the stake through an offer for sale (OFS) and raised ₹21,000 crore by selling a 3.5% stake then.
Following its listing, LIC’s shares faced a turbulent path, initially trading at a discount of over 8% on its issue price. However, the company’s shares have seen a recent positive uptick with the stock trading above its issue price of ₹949.
After the announcement of the extended deadline, shares of LIC rose 6.31% to ₹989 on BSE when Sensex fell 0.16%.
Recently, several analysts have raised their price target on LIC to over ₹1,300 a share following the change in its product mix, which is helping it achieve higher Value of New Business (VNB) margins. Traditionally, LIC’s product mix has been participation-heavy, but the company has been growing its non-participatory business since its listing. This shift is expected to further improve the VNB margin to high teens.