Market mood will decide BHEL FPO, says govt

Timing for the BHEL follow-on public offer will depend on the market conditions and the FPO may even be deferred till there is a volatility in the stock exchanges.

"The timing will have to be seen, depending on market conditions. If markets are where they are today, certainly we can ask the Disinvestment Department to defer it," Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises Minister Praful Patel told PTI.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) yesterday approved five% FPO in the power-equipment major.

The Department of Disinvestment (DoD) has already appointed four merchant bankers for disinvestment of BHEL, in which the government holds 67.72% stake.

On the basis of the stock price yesterday, the Navratna PSU is valued at Rs 86,532 crore and the government may rake in about Rs 4,300 crore by offloading 5% of its stake through the FPO.

Patel said the disinvestment cannot be a "distressed sale. It must realise a good value".

The Finance Ministry has set up an ambitious disinvestment target of Rs 40,000 crore for the current fiscal.

While the government has approved disinvestment in ONGC, SAIL, HCL and NBCC, it could  mop up only Rs 1,162 crore through five% stake sale in the Power Finance Corporation in 2011-12.

Last fiscal, the government collected Rs 22,763 crore through sale of equity in public sector enterprises.