The offer-for-sale by the government in Bharat Electronics saw strong demand from institutional buyers. According to data available with the exchanges, the portion set aside for institutions was subscribed over 2.3 times on the first day of the offer on Wednesday. The stake-sale received bids for 2.09 crore shares against the 89.34 lakh shares offered to institutional investors.

According to the BSE, most bids came in at ₹1,505 a share compared to the floor price of ₹1,498.

The government, which currently holds 74.41 per cent in BEL, plans to sell 1.11 crore shares or 5 per cent stake in it to raise about ₹1,600 crore.

The share-sale of 22.33 lakh shares for retail investors will open on Thursday. Retail investors are being given 5 per cent discount to the allotment price. Non-retail investors can carry forward their bids on Thursday.

Shares of Bharat Electronics closed at ₹1,510.25, down 3.19 per cent, on the BSE.

The Centre had sold 10 per cent in MOIL in January and raised ₹480 crore. The Centre had set a disinvestment target of ₹56,500 crore this fiscal.