FILE PHOTO: People walk past a branch of IDBI Bank in New Delhi, India, April 5, 2023. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi/File Photo | Photo Credit: ADNAN ABIDI

The government-approved sale of a majority stake in IDBI Bank to Canada’s Fairfax Group is set to unlock over ₹26,337 crore for Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC). However, analysts say the transaction is unlikely to deliver meaningful gains for LIC shareholders, as the investment was largely funded with policyholders’ money and is already reflected in the insurer’s valuation.

Under the transaction approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), the Union government and LIC will together divest 60.72 per cent of IDBI Bank for over ₹52,878 crore at ₹81 a share. LIC will sell 30.24 per cent, while the government will divest 30.48 per cent. LIC will receive about ₹26,337 crore from the sale. Following the transaction, it will retain around 19 per cent of IDBI Bank, equivalent to roughly 204.3 crore shares and valued at nearly ₹18,566 crore at the transaction price.

Limited gains

While the sale marks a significant monetisation event for LIC, market experts say the benefit to its public shareholders will be limited.

“Shareholders benefit only to a limited extent (mainly the ~10 per cent share of surplus), because the IDBI stake was funded from policyholders’ money and sits largely in the participating (Par) fund framework,” said Siddharth Rajpurohit, Lead Analyst, Banking and Non-Lending Financials, at Systematix Group.

LIC’s investment in IDBI Bank was largely funded with policyholders’ money rather than shareholder capital. Consequently, the gains from the stake sale will primarily accrue to the policyholders’ fund, with only a small portion potentially flowing to shareholders through LIC’s surplus-sharing mechanism.

Valuation impact

Analysts do not expect the transaction to have a material impact on LIC’s market valuation. The insurer’s shares closed flat at ₹394 on Tuesday.

“The position is already reflected in Embedded Value (EV),” Rajpurohit said.

Echoing this view, Piran Engineer, investment analyst at CLSA, said the transaction should not materially affect LIC’s stock, as shareholder funds were not deployed for the IDBI investment.

While the sale will generate substantial cash proceeds and leave LIC with a sizeable residual stake in IDBI Bank, analysts say it does little to change the investment case for LIC shareholders. The value of the holding is already reflected in the insurer’s embedded value, while the proceeds largely belong to the policyholder pool rather than equity investors.

For LIC shareholders, therefore, the IDBI Bank sale is more a balance-sheet event than a trigger for value creation.

Published on October 14, 2026