Centre to sell 11.36% stake in NHPC today

Likely to fetch exchequer Rs 2,700 cr

The government will kick-start its Rs 56,500-crore disinvestment programme on Wednesday when it will sell 11.36 per cent stake in power producer NHPC through an offer-for-sale issue, which is likely to fetch the exchequer Rs 2,700 crore.

According to a notification with the BSE, the government will offer 1.26 billion shares at a floor price of Rs 21.75 a share, a discount of 5.64 per cent to Tuesday's closing price of Rs 23.05 on BSE.

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The government holds 85.96 per cent in NHPC and selling 11.36 per cent would help it comply with minimum public shareholding norms of 75 per cent sovereign holding in state-owned companies.

The NHPC stake sale will be one of the first tasks for the newly renamed Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM). The government has already lined up over a dozen PSUs for stake sale in the current financial year.

NHPC would be the third PSU to be sold under the new offer for sale rules notified by the Securities and Exchange Board of India. While institutional investors would bid in the first day of the OFS, retail investors would get to bid on the second day.

NHPC, under the administrative control of power ministry, is engaged in generating power through conventional and non-conventional sources and is dedicated to the planning, development and implementation of an integrated and efficient network of power projects in India.

Out of the total disinvestment target of Rs 56,500 crore, Rs 36,000 is expected to come from 5-15 per cent stake sales in PSUs while the rest is expected from strategic sales of companies or their assets.