The disinvestment initiative of the UPA Government gather pace with Oil India Limited (OIL) stake sale getting an over-whelming response from the markets and getting over-subscribed even before the closure of market hours.
The government is estimated to get a minimum of Rs. 3,100 crore from the third divestment this fiscal. The auction, which started in the morning, got bids for over 7.50 crore shares by noon against an offer of over 6.01 crore as per data on National Stock Exchange. The indicative price, which is the weighted average price of all valid bids, was Rs. 518.04 a share. At this price, the government would garner at least Rs. 3,100 crore. The government had fixed the floor price for the 10 per cent share auction of OIL at Rs. 510 apiece. Shares of OIL were quoting at Rs 527.8 on NSE.
Bids for over 4.94 crore shares were with 100 per cent margin which meant that if the bidder decides to withdraw later they can do so. The government is selling 6.01 crore shares or 10 per cent of its stake in OIL through the offer for sale route. The government holds 78.43 per cent stake in the company which would come down to 68.43 per cent after disinvestment. OIL got listed on stock exchanges in 2009. As on March 31, 2012, the company had employee strength of 8,096.
The government has fixed a disinvestment target of Rs 30,000 crore for the current financial year. With the OIL issue going through successfully, the receipts from PSU stake sale are set to cross Rs. 10,000 crore while two more months are remaining in the current financial year.
