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The much-debated sale of the Government’s 3.56 per cent stake in Neyveli Lignite Corporation has been subscribed fully within hours of opening trade.
Compared with the offer for 5.97 crore shares, the stake sale (through the institutional placement) received bids for 6.12 crore shares.
Fetches Rs 360 cr
The Tamil Nadu Government has asked the Centre to sell the entire stake to the state. The price band was fixed at Rs 58-60 a share.
The 3.56-per cent stake sale in Neyveli Lignite Corporation fetched Rs 360 crore to the Centre’s exchequer with all of the shares being picked up by five Tamil Nadu Government firms.
According to the Tamil Nadu Government’s earlier press statement, the five PSUs are: the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation, State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu, Tamil Nadu Industrial Investment Corporation, Tamil Nadu Urban Finance and Infrastructure Development Corporation and Tamil Nadu Power Finance Corporation.
The Union Government was also successful in diluting its 5 per cent stake in India Tourism Development Corporation and 1.02 per cent stake in State Trading Corporation. These divestments added about Rs 34.5 crore to the Government’s kitty.
Earlier this month, the market regulator had given a special nod to the disinvestment department’s proposal to give preference in NLC’s share allotment to TN-based PSUs.
The shares are expected to be allotted in dematerialised form by August 8.
On Friday, the shares of NLC closed at Rs 53.05, down 4.76 per cent on the BSE.
Meanwhile, the stake sale in State Trading Corporation was subscribed 1.13 times, while ITDC disinvestment managed to get bids for 1.09 times.
The floor price for ITDC and STC were fixed at Rs 70 a share and Rs 74 apiece, respectively.
These stake sales were also being done to meet the minimum public shareholding norm set by SEBI. According to the norm, all listed central public sector units should have a minimum 10 per cent public shareholding by August 8.
>badrinarayanan.ks@thehindu.co.in
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