SBI Life IPO to open on Sep 20; price band at Rs 685-700

SBI Life Insurance, a subsidiary of the country's largest lender SBI, will hit the capital market on September 20 to raise up to Rs 8,400 crore.
The initial share sale offer will open on September 20 and close on September 22, SBI said in a regulatory filing to the stock exchanges.
This would be the second listing of a life insurer after ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, which went public last year.
"Price band for the offer as decided by SBI Life and the selling shareholders, in consultation with the lead managers, has been fixed between Rs 685 to Rs 700 per share of Rs 10 each," a separate filing said.

At the upper end of the price band, the company will raise Rs 8,400 crore.
SBI Life's public issue involves its promoters offloading up to 12 crore shares of face value of Rs 10 each through the offer of sale route, as per the draft offer documents.

State Bank of India (SBI) will dilute up to 8 crore shares while BNP Paribas Cardif SA will offload up to 4 crore.
SBI Life Insurance is a joint venture between India's largest lender SBI and BNP Paribas Cardif (BNPPC) -- the insurance holding company of France.
SBI holds 70.10 per cent in SBI Life and BNPPC 26 per cent. Minority shareholders Value Life Pte, an affiliate of KKR Asian Fund and MacRitchie Investments Pte, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Temasek Holdings, hold 1.95 per cent each.

Explaining the rationale behind the IPO, SBI Life had said the company wants to achieve the benefits of listing equity shares on the stock exchanges.
"The listing of equity shares will enhance the 'SBI Life' brand name and provide liquidity to the existing shareholders. The listing will also provide a public market for equity shares in India," the company had said.