New Delhi: State Bank of India on Tuesday said it has sold 2.1 per cent stake of its stake its subsidiary SBI Life Insurance Company through the offer for sale route to comply with shareholding norms.
The OFS took place in tranches on June 12 and June 15, 2020, the bank said in a regulatory filing without disclosing the amount raised through the share sale.
Based on the floor price of Rs 725 per share for the OFS, SBI has raised an estimated Rs 1,522.50 crore by selling 2.1 crore shares of its life insurance subsidiary.
“We, State Bank of India (seller) as one of the promoters of SBI Life Insurance Company Ltd (target company) have sold 2,10,00,000 equity shares of face value of Rs 10 each of the target company, representing 2.10 per cent of the total issued and paid up equity share capital of the target company, through the stock exchange mechanism,” SBI said in the regulatory filing.
Earlier on June 11, SBI Life had informed that the promoter SBI had set the floor price for the OFS.
The sale has been undertaken by the seller for achieving the minimum public shareholding of the target company as prescribed under rules of Sebi, SBI said.
With this, the shareholding of SBI in SBI Life has gone down to 55.50 per cent from earlier holding of 57.60 per cent.
In September 2019, market regulator SEBI had pulled up SBI Life Insurance for not complying with minimum public shareholding (MPS) norms and directed the insurer to be cautious in the future.
SBI Life had started as a 74:26 joint venture between country’s largest lender SBI and BNP Paribas Cardif of France.
SBI shares closed 0.69 per cent lower at Rs 172.85 apiece on BSE, while SBI Life scrip ended 2.56 per cent up at Rs 764.30 apiece.
