Kennametal India hits 52-week low on fixing OFS floor price at discount

Kennametal India has slipped over 13% to Rs 463, also its 52-week low, in early morning deals after its promoter - Kennametal Inc - fixed the floor price for its offer-for-sale (OFS) of shares at Rs 435. This translates into a 19% discount to the Wednesday’s closing price of Rs 534 on BSE.

The stock opened at Rs 467 and hit a high of Rs 480 on the BSE. As many as a around 20,412 shares have already changed hands on the counter in opening trades against an average sub 7,000 shares that were traded daily in past two weeks.

The company’s US-based promoter — Kennametal Inc — intends to divest 2.89 million shares through OFS today on the BSE, to comply with the Sebi norms on minimum public share holding requirements.

“The sale shall take place on the separate window of the Stock Exchange and shall commence on March 14, 2013 at 9.15 a.m. and shall close on the same day at 3.30 p.m,” Kennametal India said in a BSE filing.

As per the latest shareholding data, the promoters’ stake in the company stands at 88.16%, while foreign institutional investors hold 0.61%, domestic institutions 0.94%, and others hold 10.29%.

Meanwhile, the stock has underperformed the market by falling 37% after the company had informed the BSE of its parent’s intention to reduce its shareholding in the company on January 31, 2012. The BSE benchmark Sensex has declined by 3.1% during the same period.