New Delhi : The government raised Rs 637 crore through 10% stake sale in Engineers India (EIL) with its offer for sale getting subscribed by an impressive 2.54 times with bids being received at an indicative price of 190.63 rupees per share against a floor price of 189 rupees apiece.

The offer for sale of over 3.36 crore shares drew enthusiastic response from both institutional and retail investors, generating demand for over 8.56 crore shares, reports PTI. In the share sale, retail participation was 31%, and insurance companies applied for 36% of the shares. While participation from banks was at 8%, that from foreign institutional investors was at 5%.

Department of Disinvestment Secretary Neeraj Kumar Gupta said the Engineers India offer for sale showed the appetite in the market for state-owned companies. “This may be the first time that retail participants may get more than 20% of the issue. It shows that there is appetite for government equities. People are looking up to government equity,” Gupta said. With EIL selloff, the Centre’s PSU stake sale kitty so far this fiscal has risen to Rs 13,337 crore.