LIC IPO: Govt floats fresh RFP for legal adviser as law firms shy away

In new tender, DIPAM specifies three-year time limit for validity of the financial bids

The government has floated a new request for proposal (RFP) to appoint a legal advisor to assist the initial public offering (IPO) of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) as the first tender failed to receive adequate response from law firms.

In the revised RFP, the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) has specified that the time limit for validity of the financial bids shall be three years implying that the law firm will assist LIC and the government for three years from the time of placing the bid. The previous bid document had stated bidders cannot prescribe any time limit for validity of the financial bid, keeping the timeline of their work open-ended.

The timeline has been introduced to precisely define the scope of work of legal advisors.

Law firms will have to submit their bids by September 16. The bids will be opened the next day, and the selected intermediary would be intimated.

Legal advisers are required to submit a proposal in a consortium with an international law firm with similar experience and expertise in public offerings in capital markets. The international law firm, with whom domestic law firms would tie up, should have the experience of managing Indian capital market transactions as advisers or underwriters.

The selected law firm will have to prepare the Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP), Red Herring Prospectus and the final prospectus for filing with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) and the stock exchanges. It will also have to draft responses to queries related to the IPO received from Sebi, exchanges, depositories, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) until the completion of all activities relating to public offering.

The legal advisor will also be required to review disclosures regarding other ventures promoted or partnered by LIC, and also examine litigation against the insurer and its directors, subsidiary companies, and joint ventures, among others.

•  Govt floats fresh tender to appoint legal advisor due to poor response from law firms

•  Law firms can bid for assisting LIC IPO until Sep 16

•  Timeline introduced to define the scope of work more precisely

•  New RFP states that law firms will assist the transaction for 3 years

•  Previous RFP kept timeline for assistance open-ended