NEW DELHI: Coa l India Limited’s (CIL) offer for sale (OFS) received an overwhelming response from institutional (non-retail) investors on Thursday. The government had offered over 8.31 crore shares of CIL to institutional investors, but received bids for 28.76 crore shares or 3.46 times. In the OFS, 10% of the offer has been reserved for retail investors. The bidding for retail portion will start on Friday.
CIL, country’s largest coal producer, on Wednesday announced to sale 3% of its shareholding through the OFS. The company kept the floor price for the OFS at `225 per share, and this is nearly at 7 discount in comparison with Wednesday’s closing price of `241 for Coal India shares.
However, CIL shares fell nearly 5% on Thursday. “Offer for Sale in CIL received enthusiastic response from non-retail investors today. The issue was subscribed 3.46 times of the base size. The government has decided to exercise the green shoe option.
Retail investors get to bid tomorrow,” tweeted Department of Investment and Public Asset Management Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey. According to the exchange filing, the government will offload more than 9.24 crore shares of Coal India, representing 1.5% stake, under the base offer size.
If it gets oversubscription, an additional 9.24 crore shares will be offered. Nearly 10% of the offer has been reserved for retail investors. The government currently holds 66.13% in CIL. Shares of Coal India settled for the day at `230.55 apiece on the BSE.