The Rs 6,000-crore initial public offering (IPO) of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company, the biggest in six years and the first by an insurance company, attracted strong demand from investors. The IPO saw nearly 10 times more demand than shares on offer with bids totalling about Rs 45,000 crore.
Demand was particularly strong from institutional and wealthy investors (those applying for more than Rs 2 lakh). The retail portion, however, was subscribed just 1.3 times. The IPO also had special reservation for individual shareholders of ICICI Bank. The shareholder portion saw 12 times subscription.
The price band for the IPO was Rs 300-334 per share. Given the demand, the IPO is likely to be priced at the top end, valuing the insurer at Rs 48,000 crore.
ICICI Prudential Life’s strong brand, leadership in the private life segment and attractive valuation against its peers (HDFC Life and Max Life combined) attracted investors.
On March 18 enterprise value (EV), ICICI Prudential Life was valued at 2.45-2.73 times, 20-30 per cent discount to the multiple of HDFC and Max Life combined, according to the Nomura report.
Retail participation was low as most demand for the IPO came just hours before the close, said experts. “The issue was barely subscribed two hours before close. As retail investors take cues from others, they didn’t participate thinking the issue is read full story
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