The Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) came to the government’s rescue during the share sale of Steel Authority of India (SAIL) last week, by acquiring 70.57 per cent of the total offer.
This amounts to about Rs.1,069 crore of the total Rs.1,517 crore, which the government raised by divesting 24.04 crore shares or 5.82 per cent of its stake in SAIL through the offer for sale route.
Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), which had 5.023 per cent stake in SAIL, bought additional 169,644,181 shares or 4.107 per cent stake through the OFS, it said in a BSE filing on Tuesday. LIC now holds 377,115,022 shares or 9.13 per cent stake in the company. With the mega purchase, LIC has helped the government come close to its revised target of raising Rs. 24,000 crore through disinvestment this financial year.
