Govt may offload 10% in Coal India this fiscal itself

According to sources, the government will wait for valuations to improve

The government may sell 10% stake in Coal India this fiscal itself through a public offer, which could fetch around Rs 22,000 crore to the exchequer.

The Department of Disinvestment (DoD) is in the process of appointing merchant bankers for managing the sale.

According to a source, the department may go for the divestment in the current fiscal provided valuations improve.

"There is enough appetite for another tranche of CIL stake sale. The government will wait for valuations to improve," the source said, adding that merchant bankers are showing a lot of interest and the disinvestment department is confident of pushing ahead despite a strike threat by unions.

The government holds 78.65% in Coal India.

At the current market price, sale of 63.16 crore shares, or 10% stake, would bring in Rs 22,112 crore.

The government will appoint up to five merchant bankers to manage the sale, and the last date for applications is September 2.

Coal India was listed on November 4, 2010, and its market value today stands at Rs 2,20,535 crore.

The stock closed at Rs 350.05 on BSE, down 1.92%. The government had last sold 10% in the blue-chip on January 31, 2015 and garnered Rs 22,557 crore.

The disinvestment department is readying PSUs for stake sale and seeking Cabinet approval for the same. Already, It has Cabinet nod for about two dozen PSUs and is waiting for right market conditions to proceed.

So far this fiscal, the government has sold stakes in two PSUs -- REC and PFC -- and netted over Rs 3,000 crore.

The government, which has set a disinvestment target of Rs 69,500 crore this fiscal, is slated to offload five% in the Dredging Corporation of India tomorrow.