The government on Wednesday sold its 7.6 per cent holding in National Fertilizers Limited (NFL) through the offer for sale route to raise about Rs 100 crore. The 3.8 million share offering was subscribed 1.6 times, garnering 5.8 million bids. Most bids came around the floor price, which was fixed at Rs 27 a share. Eighty per cent of the bids came from institutional investors. IDBI Capital Markets is acting as merchant banker for the share sale. Shares of the company on Wednesday ended at Rs 27, up Rs 0.30, or 1.12 per cent. The Centre had to divest its stake in NFL before August 8 to comply with the minimum public shareholding (MPS) requirement.
The government is looking at selling its 3.6 per cent stake in Neyveli Lignite Corp through institutional placement programme. The stake is to be sold on August 2 to four Tamil Nadu government-owned companies.
Besides this, the Centre is likely to transfer its holding in seven other public sector units, which have a free float of less than 10 per cent, into a special fund for meeting the MPS requirement.
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The government is targeting to raise Rs 40,000 crore through disinvestment during 2013-14. So far, it has raised Rs 800 crore by selling shares in Hindustan Copper and MMTC.
Indian Oil Corporation and Coal India have been identified as big-ticket disinvestment candidates by the government for this year's disinvestment programme.
