17 merchant bankers in race for IOC disinvestment

Citibank, Goldman Sachs and ICICI Securities are among 17 merchant bankers in the race to manage the sale of 10 % of the government's stake in Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), which is valued at over Rs 4,300 crore.

     
The Finance Ministry had in May moved a draft Cabinet note for the disinvestment of 19.16 crore IOC shares, or 10 % of the government's stake, through an offer for sale.

     
The disinvestment department is expected to finalise the merchant bankers by mid-July, sources said.

     
At Friday's closing price of Rs 225.20 on the BSE, the share sale will fetch the government Rs 4,315 crore.

     
At present, the government holds a 78.92 % stake in IOC.Other bankers in the fray include Merrill Lynch, J P Morgan, Standard Chartered, HSBC, SBI Capital and Macquarie.

The merchant bankers are scheduled to make their presentations on Thursday, according to the department of disinvestment website.

     
IOC, the nation's largest refiner, has a market capitalisation of Rs 54,677 crore. It posted a net profit of Rs 5,005 crore in 2012-13, up from Rs 3,954 crore in the previous year.

     
The company's profit peaked at Rs 10,221 crore in 2009-10. IOC sells fuel at below-market prices, for which it is partially compensated by the government.

     
The disinvestment target through PSU stake sales in the current financial year is Rs 40,000 crore.