NEW DELHI: A government department that has an operations room named Kurukshetra is clearly in battle mode. But, the merchant bankers for the LIC stake sale seemed to have missed the signal.While the offer-for-sale had been discussed for more than six months and bankers worked with the department of investment and public asset management (Dipam) to reach out to potential investors, it turns out that even they were unaware of the timing until trading ended on exchanges on Monday. “Only depositories, stock exchanges and clearing houses were in the loop and bankers were brought in later,” confirmed an official, adding that Dipam wanted to avoid the possibility of word getting out as it wanted to surprise the market and maximise receipts for govt.The transaction was timed in a way that it took advantage of the current market situation, which followed SBI Mutual Fund’s Rs 10,000 crore IPO and came ahead of two other large listings – by NSE (around Rs 30,000 crore) and Jio (over Rs 35,000 crore). In the months preceding the sale, govt worked on making it a success. So, there was a bonus issue a few months ago, which addressed concerns of some of the shareholders. who were unhappy with the way the LIC stock performed after listing. The pause of sorts in West Asia also helped the market mood, paving the way for the offer for sale.“Unanticipated shocks have real effects and the markets have shown the real effects,” DIPAM secretary Arunish Chawla told TOI, a day after govt raised Rs 31,000 crore by selling shares in the insurance behemoth. The sale, which results in a 10% public float, will also make LIC comply with listing requirements nine months ahead of schedule.“LIC will now become part of domestic and global indices and that will change it forever,” Chawla added.Having mopped up over Rs 60,000 crore through disinvestment so far this year, against a target of Rs 80,000 crore, govt is on course to close the year at a higher level. Apart from finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s push, Dipam’s homework, including a dedicated research unit, that tracks stock prices and the market and weighs it with govt’s overall revenue needs has also helped.
