India Said to Choose Arrangers for $1 Billion IOC Share Offering

India has met or exceeded its privatisation target only six times since 1998.

(Bloomberg) -- The Indian government has chosen arrangers for the sale of a nearly $1 billion stake in the country’s largest refiner, Indian Oil Corp., according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The country picked Citigroup Inc, Deutsche Bank AG and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to advise on the offering, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. ICICI Securities Ltd. and SBI Capital Markets Ltd. are also among banks selected to work on the sale, the people said.

The 3 percent stake the government is aiming to divest is worth 63.9 billion rupees ($990 million) based on Thursday’s closing price. The country, which currently owns 58.3 percent of the energy giant, is pursuing a sale as it seeks to meet a 725 billion-rupee divestment target for the fiscal year beginning April 1. India has met or exceeded its privatization target only six times since 1998.

Banks will get a fee of 1 rupee for advising on the Indian Oil share sale, according to the people with knowledge of the matter. A spokesman for Goldman Sachs declined to comment, while representatives for the government, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, ICICI and SBI didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

The Indian cabinet last month approved a plan to sell stakes as big as 25 percent in 11 state-run companies through public offerings. The earmarked companies include Indian Railway Finance Corp., Bharat Dynamics Ltd. and North Eastern Electric Power Corp.

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