SAIL shortlists JPMorgan, Deutsche, four others for FPO

State-owned Steel Authority of India today said that six bankers, including JP Morgan and Deutsche Bank, have been shortlisted for managing the first phase of its upcoming Rs 8,000 crore FPO.

"We have shortlisted six banks for our FPO. We have made them the offer, now they have to accept it," SAIL Chairman C S Verma told PTI.

He said SBI Capital, Enam Securities, Kotak Mahindra Capital and HSBC have also been shortlisted for managing the FPO, which is slated to hit the market in January or February, 2011.

Verma added that SAIL had not sought the Law Ministry's opinion as "there was no legal question involved" in the appointment of book runners and lead managers for the share sale.

Recent media reports suggested that bankers vying for the FPO had all offered to charge one-tenth of a paisa as their fee, which prompted SAIL to seek the Law Ministry's opinion on how to select the best candidate from the 17 firms that bid to manage the FPO.

The announcement comes after SAIL earlier this month said it will appoint up to six merchant bankers to advise it on the timing of the first tranche of its share sale.

The banks will manage the first phase of its 20 per cent share sale programme, under which the government plans to divest 5 per cent of its stake in the company, while the steel giant will issue additional shares equivalent to a 5 per cent stake.

Another 10 per cent stake will be sold under the second phase of the FPO, the timing of which will be decided later. The two-phase FPO may help raise a total of Rs 16,000 crore.

At present, the government holds a stake of a little over 85 per cent in SAIL and post-FPO, its equity in the company is expected to go down to about 69 per cent.

SAIL wants to part-fund its Rs 70,000 crore expansion programme with the proceeds from the share sale, while for the government, the stake dilution will help attain its disinvestment target of Rs 40,000 crore for this fiscal.

Shares of the company were trading at Rs 200.10 on the Bombay Stock Exchange today, up 0.08 per cent from the previous close.