9 merchant bankers in fray to manage HUDCO stake sale

The govt is planning to sell 10% stake via IPO

As many as nine merchant bankers, including Citibank and Nomura Financial, have queued up to manage the 10 per cent stake sale of Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO).

The other bankers who are in fray are SBI Capital Market Ltd, IDBI Capital Markets and Securities, ICICI Securities, IDFC Bank, Axis Capital, Yes Bank and Edelweiss Financial Services, according to the department of investment and public asset management (Dipam).

The government is planning to sell 10 per cent stake in HUDCO, which is under administrative control of the urban development ministry, through an initial public offer (IPO).

The government will select up to four merchant bankers for managing HUDCO stake sale on August 18.

Last month, the Cabinet had approved disinvestment of 10 per cent stake in HUDCO at a discount of up to 5 per cent on the issue price to retail investors and HUDCO employees.

The government has set a disinvestment target of Rs 56,500 crore for the current fiscal. Of this, Rs 36,000 crore will be raised from minority stake sale in PSUs and Rs 20,500 crore from strategic sale.

The government has already raked in Rs 3,183 crore from stake sale in NHPC, employee subscription in IOC and NTPC disinvestment.