Institutional portion of Bharat Electronics share sale subscribed two times

Govt is divesting 5% in BEL at Rs 1,498 a share; retail sale on Thursday

The Rs 1,670-crore share sale in Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) garnered encouraging response on Wednesday, with the institutional investors' portion getting subscribed more than two times.

The government is divesting five per cent stake in BEL through an offer for sale (OFS) at a floor price of Rs 1,498 per share as a part of 2016-17 disinvestment programme. The 2.23 million shares for retail investors will be auctioned on Thursday. The government currently holds 74.41 per cent in BEL.

On Wednesday, the OFS attracted bids 20.9 million bids as against 8.9 million on offer. In case there is a shortfall in the