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NLC India Share Sale Subscribed 2.1 Times, Government May Get Rs 750 Crore

On the last day of the offer for sale today, the portion reserved for retail investors was subscribed 2.90 times.

A miner passes in front of a coal furnace. (Photographer: Nicolo Filippo Rosso/Bloomberg)
A miner passes in front of a coal furnace. (Photographer: Nicolo Filippo Rosso/Bloomberg)

The government’s 5 percent stake sale in NLC India Ltd. was subscribed 2.10 times on the final day, and the government is likely to raise Rs 750 crore through the disinvestment.

On the last day of the offer for sale today, the portion reserved for retail investors was subscribed 2.90 times. These investors bid at Rs 94.60 a share, a discount of 3.5 percent over the cut-off price.

Institutional investors yesterday bid for 3.19 times the NLC shares fixed for them in the OFS, following which the government decided to exercise the green-shoe option.

The government approved disinvestment of 3 percent shares of NLC (formerly Neyveli Lignite Corporation) as the base offer, with an option to retain oversubscription of up to additional 2 percent shares.

Overall, the 5 percent stake was subscribed 2.10 times, a finance ministry statement said, adding that the government is likely to raise Rs 750 crore through the disinvestment.

Shares of NLC closed at Rs 97.55, up 3.17 percent, on the BSE.

Post the disinvestment, the government’s stake in NLC will come down to 84.32 percent.

The government has already raised over Rs 19,000 crore through minority stake sale in PSUs in the current fiscal. It looks to raise Rs 72,500 crore through PSU stake sale, including strategic sale and listing of insurance PSUs, in 2017-18.