Shares of state-owned behemoth Coal India Ltd (CIL) further fell to 3.47 percent in the afternoon trade Friday after the central government announced plans of selling a maximum of 10 percent stake in the company at a discounted price.
The government fixed the floor pricing of shares at Rs.358 each at a discounted rate of 4.5 percent as per the closure of Thursday's trading.
This is the biggest offering in the equity markets. The government is selling 315,818,220 shares and another bulk stock of the same quantity through the greenshoe route. The auction will close at 3.30 p.m. Friday.
The greenshoe mechanism entitles the seller an option to sell additional stakes if there is enough demand.
The shares were trading at 361.95 at 1.45 p.m. in the Mumbai stock exchange.