ONGC will file a red herring prospectus (RHP) for its follow-on public offer (FPO) by February 20. A decision to this effect was taken on Monday at a FPO kick-off meeting held by the Disinvestment department in the Finance Ministry.

A senior official said “a tentative schedule has been drawn.” ONGC's FPO is likely to hit the market on March 15.

The Government plans to raise Rs 13,000 crore through divestment of its five per cent stake in ONGC.

Subsequent to the offer, the Government's shareholding in ONGC would come down to 69.14 per cent.

Recently, the Government had shortlisted Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Nomura Holdings, HSBC Holdings Plc, JM Financial Services, Citigroup Inc and Morgan Stanley to handle the FPO.

Preparing for the FPO, ONGC has already appointed two international auditors - DeGolyer and MacNaughton and Gaffney, Cline and Associates - to certify the company's oil and gas reserves.

This is a pre-requisite for any exploration company going for a public offering. ONGC usually gets its reserves audited every five years.

The company's Board recently approved stock split and issuance of bonus shares, as a precursor to the share sale.

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