RINL gets nod to split shares in 1:100 ratio

State-run Rashtriya Ispat Nigam (RINL) said it has got the government’s approval to split shares in the ratio of 1:100, a development which will help the company to ensure wider retail participation in its proposed initial public offering (IPO).

 At an extra-ordinary general meeting (EGM) at RINL’s registered office at Visakhapatnam, shareholders, mainly government, also adopted a new set of articles of association to converse the company to a public limited one, RINL said.

“In the EGM, shareholders have approved its conversion to a Public Limited Company.

The present Share value of Rs 1,000 is now split into Rs 10 per share along with adoption of a new set of Articles of Association and Memorandum of Association in line with the Public Limited Company,” it said.

The company is likely to file the draft prospectus for its upcoming IPO by June.

Sarita Taneja, Under Secretary, Ministry of Steel and authorised government nominee attended the meeting along with RINL Chairman & Managing Director A P Choudhary and others.

RINL, fully-owned by the government, was registered as a Private Company as per Companies Act, 1956. In the share sale programme of RINL, the government will sell its 10 per cent stake in the company.

The Vizag-based steel maker was granted Navratna status on November 16, 2010, subject to the condition that it would list its shares in two years from the date of acquiring the status. Hence, it has time till November to come up with the IPO to fulfil the guidelines of being a Navratna firm.

Last fiscal, the government had approved disinvestment of 10 per cent of RINL’s holdings through an IPO. However, due to poor market conditions, it had put off its earlier plans to come up with the stake sale in January-February.