RCF disinvestment fetches govt Rs 310 cr

The auction, which started in the morning, got bids for over 79 mn shares

The government today raised about Rs 310 crore by divesting its 12.5% holdings in Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers (RCF) through the offer for sale (OFS) route.  

The government on Friday raised about Rs 310 crore by divesting 12.5 per cent of its stake in Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers Ltd (RCF) through an offer for sale.

The auction, in which 69 million RCF shares were sold, was subscribed 1.3 times the number of shares on offer. Most bids were at Rs 45.02, against the minimum offer price of Rs 45 a share. On Friday, the RCF stock closed at Rs 45.45 on the BSE, up 3.65 per cent over its previous close. ICICI Securities and IDBI Capital Markets were the managers for the stake sale. Following the sale, the government’s stake in RCF fell to 80 per cent.

So far this financial year, the government has raised about Rs 22,000 crore by selling shares in six companies. This includes last month’s mega share sale worth Rs 11,450 crore in power utility major NTPC. Other companies in which the government divested its stake this financial year include Oil India (through which the Centre raised Rs 3,100 crore) and NMDC (Rs 6,000 crore). By the end of this month, the Centre plans to sell shares in Steel Authority of India Limited and National Aluminum Company.