MUMBAI:
Four law firms, including two of India's biggest, have bid to advise the state-run Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) on its mega stock offering, after New Delhi made the fee payment structure more attractive.
LIC, a household name in India, is aiming to list by March in an initial public offering estimated at $12 billion, set to be the country's biggest. But the government had struggled to attract law firms to advise on the sale, partly because they are stretched due to a corporate stock listing boom but also because of the low fees on government mandates, Reuters reported last week.
After the law firms showed no interest, the government revised its offer twice this month, limiting the timeline of the LIC's IPO work and offering a part payment during the IPO process, not just at the end.
Now, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, India's largest law firm, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas, Crawford Bayley and Link Legal have bid to work on the IPO and will make presentations to a government committee on Friday to qualify, a government notification said on Thursday.