HAL share sale likely before March end

State-run defence equipment maker Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) is expected to come out with its initial share sale to offload 10 per cent stake in the current fiscal ending March.
"The company (HAL) will file draft documents with stock market regulator Sebi in the next ten days for its Initial Public Offer (IPO)," a Disinvestment Department official said.
The share sale in HAL would be the last divestment this financial year, the official said.
Government has already appointed four merchant bankers -- SBI Cap, Goldman Sachs, Barclays and Axis Capital -- for managing the HAL stake sale.
In November last year, Cabinet had approved offloading 10 per cent stake or 1.20 crore equity shares in HAL through an initial public offer.

A Navaratna company, HAL also provides maintenance and overhaul services of aircrafts.

It had a paid-up capital of Rs 120.50 crore, comprising 12.05 crore shares of face value of Rs 10 each at the end of March 2011. Currently, the company is fully-owned by the government.
So far this fiscal, the government has raised about Rs 3,000 crore through sale of stakes in various public sector enterprises while the target is to mop up Rs 40,000 crore during 2013-14 period.
Government is trying hard to raise funds by way of disinvestment as part of its effort to keep fiscal deficit within the red line of 4.8 per cent of GDP this financial year.