SAIL stake sale to sail govt through divestment

EGoM decision will help mop up over Rs 1,500 cr

The government on Wednesday cleared 5.82 per cent sale of its stake in steel-maker SAIL on Friday. The sale will be conducted through offer for sale (OFS) route and it is expected to garner over Rs 1,500 crore.

 The SAIL disinvestment is expected to sail the government through its revised target of Rs 24,000 for divestment in the current fiscal ending March 31. 

So far it has raised over Rs 22,300 crore through public sector unit (PSU) stake sales.

 The company, which got the nod of the Empowered Group of Ministers earlier in the day, will announce the floor price for the offer after the closing of the market hours on Thursday, SAIL said in a communication to the exchanges.

Merchant bankers

 

The merchant bankers for SAIL share sale include SBI Caps, Kotak Mahindra and Deutsche Bank. Post stake sale, the government's stake in SAIL will come down to 80 per cent.  At Rs 65.05 per share, government's 5.82 per cent stake or 24,03,96,572 shares in the company could fetch Rs 1,564 crore from the issue, if fully-subscribed. 

The government currently owns 85.82 per cent stake in SAIL. SAIL's scrip touched a year-low on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) at Rs 64.05 during the intra-day trade in the Bombay Stock Exchange. However, it recovered later to settle at Rs 65.05, down 0.61 per cent over the previous closing.