Power Grid picks Citi, 4 others for $1.2 bln share sale - sources

REUTERS - State-run Power Grid Corp of India has hired Citigroup , UBS AG and three Indian banks for a $1.2 billion share sale, three sources with direct knowledge of the situation said on Friday.

Others selected for managing the issue, which is likely to be launched early next year, are SBI Capital, ICICI Securities and Kotak Mahindra Capital, said the sources, who declined to be named before an official announcement.

Power Grid earlier this month said the ministry of power has sought the federal cabinet's approval for a secondary share sale, which will include the government divesting 4 percent of its stake in the company.

The company will issue 601.9 million new shares, or 13 percent of its existing paid-up capital, as part of the follow-on share sale, which is valued at about $1.2 billion at the current market price.

The government's divestment of a 4 percent stake in the company is part of New Delhi's plan to raise 400 billion rupees through sale of its shares in state companies in the current fiscal year ending March 2014.

Power Grid shares closed down 0.4 percent on Friday at 98.95 rupees in the main Mumbai stock market that fell 0.8 percent. (Reporting by Sumeet Chatterjee in Mumbai; Editing by Anand Basu)