LIC Bought 70% Of Shares In Hindustan Aeronautics’ IPO

The Life Insurance Corporation of India bought more than two-thirds of the shares that were up for grabs in state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd.’s initial public offering.

The government-owned insurer was allotted 2.34 crore shares, or about 7 percent stake, for Rs 2,844 crore, according to disclosures submitted to the stock exchange. That’s 70 percent of the IPO size.

The IPO of Hindustan Aeronautics, the maker of Sukhoi aircrafts, had aimed to raise Rs 4,200 crore from its three-day offer that ended a week ago. By the time the offer closed, it had managed to raise only Rs 4,088 crore as demand from non-institutional and retail investors remained muted.

India’s largest state-owned defence firm manufactures aircraft, helicopters and aeroengines, and also develops and repairs them. HAL’s biggest client currently is the Indian Army. The company’s order book stood at Rs 68,461 crore, as of Dec. 31, 2017 which will be executed over the next three years.