GIC shares slide 5.5% as OFS for non-retail investors opens; key details to know

Shares of General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC) slipped as much as 5.48% to ₹366 apiece on the NSE in the early trade on Tuesday, June 16, as the offer for sale (OFS) by the government to sell up to a 5% stake in the PSU began today.

The government on Monday announced that it was looking to sell up to 5% stake in GIC at a floor price of ₹352 per share.

Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) Secretary Arunish Chawla said on X that the government will divest 2% equity in GIC, with an additional 3% as a green shoe option.

Details to know

The two-day offer for sale (OFS) will open for institutional investors on Tuesday and retail investors on Wednesday.

At the floor price of ₹352 apiece, the sale of over 8.77 crore shares will fetch about ₹3,000 crore to the exchequer.

The company’s stock ended at ₹388.35 on the BSE on Monday, while on the NSE, shares ended at ₹387.25 apiece.

The floor price is at a discount of 9.36 per cent over Monday’s closing price on the BSE.

GIC shareholding pattern

According to the latest shareholding data, the Government of India remains the dominant shareholder in GIC Re with an 82.40% stake. Among institutional investors, Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) holds 9.81%, while mutual funds own 1.49% of the company.

Divestment push gathers pace

This marks the government’s fifth stake sale in a public sector undertaking (PSU) during the current fiscal year.

So far, the Centre has raised around ₹13,389 crore through PSU stake sales, including ₹5,542 crore from Coal India, ₹4,357 crore from NHPC, ₹2,266 crore from Central Bank of India, and ₹1,223 crore from NLC India.

The government is targeting ₹80,000 crore from disinvestment and asset monetisation in FY27 and is aiming to surpass the budgeted estimate through continued stake sales and strategic monetisation initiatives.

GIC history in brief

The Government of India (GOI), through nationalisation, took over the shares of 55 Indian insurance companies and the undertakings of 52 insurers carrying on general insurance business. General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC) was formed in pursuance of Section 9(1) of GIBNA.

It was incorporated on November 22, 1972, under the Companies Act, 1956, as a private company limited by shares.

GIC was formed for the purpose of superintending, controlling, and carrying on the business of general insurance.

As soon as GIC was formed, GOI transferred all the shares it held of the general insurance companies to GIC.

Simultaneously, the nationalised undertakings were transferred to Indian insurance companies. After a process of mergers among Indian insurance companies, four companies were left as fully owned subsidiary companies of GIC.