Axis Bank OFS retail book of 5.8 mn shares receives just 28% subscription

The retail quota of the Axis Bank offer for sale (OFS) managed to garner just 28 per cent subscription. A total of 5.8 million shares were reserved for retail investors—those investing up to Rs 2,00,00. However, they bid only for 1.66 million shares, data provided by exchanges showed. The unsubscribed portion of the OFS will be allotted to non-retail investors. A day earlier, they had bid for 2.6 times the shares on offer. Most retail bids came in at Rs 703. Shares of Axis Bank closed at Rs 706, down 1.5 per cent.

Through the OFS, the government sold 1.95 per cent stake in Axis Bank held by the Specified Undertaking of the Unit Trust of India (SUUTI). Following the stake sale, Suuti’s stake has come down to 1.5 per cent in the private sector lender.

The government will be able to raise a little over Rs 4,000 crore through the share sale. The amount raised through the share sale will go towards the government’s 2021-22 disinvestment kitty. The centre has set the disinvestment target for the current fiscal at Rs 1.75 trillion.