Govt to divest 7% in Hindustan Copper today

The government is selling 64.7 million shares, and has set a floor price of Rs 62 to raise Rs 402 cr

The government will sell 7% stake in Hindustan Copper as a part of this year’s disinvestment programme. The share sale will be done through the so-called offer for sale (OFS) route on Thursday at a base price of Rs 62 per share, five per cent discount to current market rate. Shares of Hindustan Copper on Wednesday closed at Rs 65.35 on the BSE. 

A total of 64.76 million shares have been put on the block, a fifth of which will be reserved for retail investors. Retail bidding will take place on Friday and those applying in the retail segment (up to Rs 2,00,000) will be offered a 5% discount on the allotment price. 

The sale is part of the government's asset sale plan to raise funds to help plug its deficit. For the year to March 2017, it plans to raise Rs 56,500 crore from such sales.

The government also needs to cut its stake in state-run companies to 75% over a period of time as capital market rules require publicly traded companies to maintain a minimum 25% float.

SBICAP Securities, ICICI Securities, Edelweiss Securities and Deutsche Equities are managing the sale.