Govt eyes over Rs 3,600 cr by divesting 7% in NMDC

Mumbai: The government is planning to raise over Rs 3,600 crore by offloading nearly 22 crore shares or about 7.5% in through an offer for sale (OFS). The issue will open on Tuesday and close on Wednesday with the floor price at Rs 165-per-share, the company informed the exchanges on Monday evening.

The government intends to sell up to 11.7 crore NMDC shares, representing 4% of the company’s share capital on July 6 and July 7. It also plans to offer another 10.2 crore shares of the mineral miner in case there’s excess demand in the OFS. Non-retail investors are allowed to bid in the offer on Tuesday and Wednesday while retail investors would be allowed to bid on Wednesday only, the OFS documents said. At the floor price of Rs 165, at this mark, the shares are being offered at a 6% discount to NMDC’s Monday closing price of Rs 175.30 on BSE. If the whole of 7.5% of the company is offloaded through the OFS, according to BSE data, the government’s stake in the company will come down to 60.8% from 68.3% now.

Citigroup Global Markets India, ICICI Securities and SBICap Securities are managing the OFS.