Edelweiss Financial, IDFC Capital and HSBC Securities have been shortlisted as the merchant bankers, an official source said.
At the current market price of Rs 20.95 a piece, sale of 11.36 per cent or 125.76 crore shares would fetch over Rs 2,600 crore to the exchequer.
The stake sale is being done to make the company compliant with the minimum 25 per cent public holding norm, the official added.
The Cabinet today deferred a decision on NHPC stake sale as Finance Minister Arun Jaitley was not in town.
In the current fiscal the government plans to mop up Rs 43,425 crore from selling stake in PSUs.