New Delhi : Kicking off its disinvestment drive, government will sell its 5 % stake in steel major SAIL on Friday to mop up about Rs 1,700 crore while giving retail investors 5 % discount to bid price, reports PTI.
The SAIL offering would be the first PSU share sale under the new government, which targets to raise Rs 43,425 crore through selling shares in various state-owned firms during current fiscal. The SAIL scrip ended 4.67 % lower at Rs 85.65 on the BSE, while the floor price for the Offer-For-Sale would be determined today.
The sale of 5 % stake or about 20.65 crore shares of Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) at the current market price of Rs 85.65 apiece would fetch the exchequer over Rs 1,700 crore.
As much as 10 % of the offered shares has been reserved for retail investors, who can buy shares worth up to Rs 2 lakh in the share sale. A minimum of 25 % of the issue size would be reserved for mutual funds and insurance companies. “Retail investors will be allocated shares at a discount of 5 % to the bid price entered by them,” an NSE circular said, adding that the final allocation price may be below the floor price. The Cabinet had in July 2012 approved a 10.82 % stake sale in SAIL. Accordingly, the first tranche of disinvestment of 5.82 % was completed in March 2013. The government has lined up a host of PSUs to pare its holdings. The disinvestment plan includes 5 % stake sale in ONGC, 10 % in Coal India and 11.36 % in NHPC.
