LIC Has No Plans To Bid For More In Adani Share Sale: Report LIC took 5% share offering's anchor portion of $736 million, but has revealed that no plans to bid for more in the ongoing book building process that closes on Tuesday
By Teena Jose
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India's state-backed Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) has no current plans to bid in the ongoing $2.5 billion secondary share sale of Adani Enterprises, according to Reuters citing close sources aware of the matter.
As per the report, LIC took 5% share offering's anchor portion of $736 million, but has revealed that no plans to bid for more in the ongoing book building process that closes on Tuesday.
In a statement released on Monday, LIC said that its total holding under equity and debt in Adani Group is INR 35,917 crore. "The credit rating of all Adani debt securities held by LIC are AA and above which is in compliance with IRDAI investment regulations as applicable to all life insurance companies. LIC, which has total assets under management (AUM) of Rs 41.6 lakh crore as of September 2022, issued the statement in response to media speculation over the corporation's exposure to Adani Group. In terms of book value, investments in Adani Group are less than 1% of its AUM," said LIC.
It has also said that the the corporation will seek clarification on the Hindenburg report from Adani Group. Hit by weakened sentiment after the Hindenburg report, Adani Enterprises shares closed at INR 2,892.85 on Monday, well below the offer price range of INR 3,112-3,276 per share. The issue has so far been subscribed by 3%, raising doubts about its success, as per the report.
"LIC will not go (bid) for institutional quota at present. LIC is taking a cautious approach and the board had only approved the anchor bid," the source told Reuters under the identity of anonymity.
