Oil PSUs shell out Rs 2,200-cr for 10% in Oil India

Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) today bought a total of 10 per cent stake in PSU explorer Oil India (OIL) for about Rs 2,200-crore.

The state-run refiners picked up the government's stake in OIL as part of a divestment plan.

"A total of 2.14-crore shares have been sold to the refiners," OIL Director Finance T K Ananth Kumar said.

"The funds have already been transferred into government accounts. About Rs 2,200-odd crore has been received for the 10 per cent stake," Kumar said.

IOC, the nation's largest refiner, picked up a 5 per cent stake in the mini-ratna company for Rs 1,123.5-crore. BPCL and HPCL picked up 2.5 per cent stake each in OIL for Rs 561.7-crore.

OIL, the nation's second-largest state-run explorer, last week hit the capital market to raise funds for expansion.

While the company offered 11 per cent fresh equity to the public through the IPO, the government divested 10 per cent of its stake in the company to state-run refiners at the IPO price.

The government has fixed the issue price at Rs 1,050 per share, raising a cumulative Rs 4,982-crore.

"IOC has bought 1.07-crore shares and HPCL and HPCL have bought 53.5-lakh shares each," Kumar said.

Post-IPO and disinvestment, the government's stake in the company will decrease from 98.13 per cent to 78.5 per cent.

The initial public offer of OIL, which closed September 10, was subscribed nearly 31 times, generating demand for shares worth over Rs 85,576-crore.

OIL is scheduled to get listed on the stock exchanges on September 30.