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Investors lap up Hindustan Copper share sale

Govt garnered Rs 260 crore from the 37.1-million share offering, which was subscribed 1.18 times

BS Reporter Mumbai
State-owned Hindustan Copper's share sale on Wednesday sailed through, thanks to demand from institutional investors. The government garnered Rs 260 crore from the 37.1-million share offering, which was subscribed 1.18 times.

Majority of the bids for the share sale, which was done through stock exchanges, came at Rs 70, the floor price. The stock fell 3.1 per cent to close at Rs 70.40 on Wednesday.

The stake sale has helped the government reduce its holding below 90 per cent in the company to comply with the 10 per cent minimum public shareholding requirement before the August 8 deadline.

The government held 94.01 per cent stake in Hindustan Copper before the offer for sale (OFS) on Wednesday.

In November 2012, the government had sold 5.58 per cent stake in the company through the OFS route at an average price of Rs 156.56 per share, helping it raise a little over Rs 800 crore.

Hindustan Copper is the second state-owned company to hit the market in 2013-14. Last month, the government raised about Rs 570 crore by selling 9.3 per cent stake in MMTC through OFS. In FY14, the government aims to raise Rs 40,000 crore through disinvestment.

Other public sector firms that are yet to comply with the minimum public shareholding requirement include FACT, Neyveli Lignite, National Fertilizers and HMT, among others. A majority of these stocks have fallen sharply in recent weeks on worries their share sales would be priced at a steep discount to their market prices.

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First Published: Jul 03 2013 | 10:40 PM IST

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