SBI Life OFS' retail portion undersubscribed amid weakness in market

The retail portion of SBI Life Insurance Company’s offer for sale (OFS) garnered just 16 per cent subscription amid weakness in the secondary market. 

Retail investors — those applying for shares worth up to Rs 200,000 — bid for just 331,070 shares, as against 2.1 million on offer. Shares of SBI Life on Monday ended at Rs 745.5, down 0.74 per cent. 

The base price for the OFS was set at Rs 725 per share. Despite shortfall in retail demand, the OFS has sailed through successfully as the institutional investor portion had seen twice demand as against the shares on offer. Investment bankers said the unsubscribed retail portion will go to institutional investors.

 On Friday, institutional investor bids had exceeded 38.6 million shares as against 18.9 million shares on offer. Through the OFS, promoter State Bank of India has raised over Rs 1,500 crore by paring 2.1 per cent stake.

SBI Life joins a series of blue-chip firms, including peer HDFC Life in successfully concluding large share sales. The SBI Life share sale is being handled by SBI Cap Securities, HSBC and Nomura.

Market players said several large investors subscribed to both SBI Life and HDFC Life's share sales given the sector's long-term prospects.