DoD meets SteelMin, merchant bankers on SAIL disinvestment

Company's shares today closed at Rs 93.10, down 0.85% on the BSE

Kick starting the process of 5% stake sale in SAIL, the Disinvestment Department today held meeting with merchant bankers and steel ministry officials to move ahead with it.

"It was a preliminary meeting to discuss the process. No timeline has been decided as yet," sources said.

The sale of 5% stake or about 20.65 crore shares at the current market price would fetch the exchequer about Rs 1,900 crore.

SAIL shares today closed at Rs 93.10, down 0.85% on the BSE.

Government holds 80% stake in SAIL. A five% dilution would help the government meet the minimum 25% public shareholding norm of market regulator Sebi.

In the interim Budget, the government budgeted to raise Rs 36,925 crore through stake sale in PSUs in the current fiscal. SAIL, with a market capitalisation of over Rs 38,450 crore, would be among the big-ticket divestments.

The Cabinet under the previous United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government had approved divestment of 10.82% stake in SAIL in 2012-13 fiscal.

The government had since appointed merchant bankers for the share sale, which include SBI Caps, Kotak Mahindra and Deutsche Bank.

However, later it trimmed the size of stake sale to 5.82%, thereby raising over Rs 1,500 crore in March 2013.

The Finance Ministry has already asked the Department of Disinvestment (DoD) to complete the groundwork for stake sales in state-owned companies soon after the budget to take advantage of the bull phase in the stock market.

The benchmark 30-share BSE Sensex has gained 12% so far in this financial year.

The DoD has already identified companies for stake sale which include 10% in Coal India, 11.6% stake in NHPC and 5% each in REC and PFC

Besides, it will also go ahead with the long-pending sale of its residual stake in Hindustan Zinc and Balco.