Hind Copper share sale: Institutions put in Rs 500 cr bids

State-owned Hindustan Copper's share sale today garnered 1.56 times subscription, totalling Rs 500 crore, with most of the bids coming from LIC and mutual funds.
The two-day share sale, wherein the government is offloading 7 per cent of its equity, attracted bids for 8.08 crore shares as against 5.18 crore offered to institutional investors on the first day, according to the stock exchange data.
Most of the bids came at the floor or minimum bid price of Rs 62. At this price, subscription of over 8.08 crore shares totalled Rs 500 crore.
Investment banking sources said most of the bids came from mutual funds and insurance companies, including Life Insurance Corporation (LIC).

The offer for sale (OFS) will open tomorrow for retail subscribers.
Shares of Hindustan Copper closed at Rs 62.10, down 4.97 per cent over previous close on the BSE.

Hindustan Copper is the second disinvestment through OFS route by the government in the current fiscal. Government is targeting Rs 56,500 crore through selling shares and privatisation of public sector undertakings (PSUs).
It had last raised Rs 2,716 crore through share sale in NHPC in April.
The government is selling a total of 6.47 crore equity shares at a floor price of Rs 62 a share. It holds 89.95 per cent stake in Hindustan Copper.

The remaining 1.29 crore shares reserved for retail investors, who would also be given a 5 per cent discount to the share allotment price, will go up for subscription tomorrow.
SBICAP Securities, ICICI Securities, Edelweiss Securities and Deutsche Equities India are acting as brokers for the sale, which is part of government's disinvestment plan to raise Rs 56,500 crore in current fiscal.