Institutional buyers offer bids worth `4,300 cr for CIL shares

NEW DELHI: In the first big ticket disinvestment of the current fiscal Coal India share sale kicked off for a smooth sail Wednesday as institutional investors put in bids worth Rs 4,300 crore and over-subscribed the shares reserved for them.

Of the 14.89 crore share on offer, institutional investors put in bids for 15.84 crore shares or 1.06 times the shares reserved for institutional buyers, as per data available with NSE.

Officials said the domestic mutual funds and insurance companies invested heavily in the offer for sale (OFS) on Wednesday, which was the first day of the two day share sale.

“Bids worth Rs 4,300 crore has been put by institutional buyers,” officials said.

The share sale will on Thursday open for retail investors, who would be offered a 5 per cent discount. These investors can bid for shares worth up to Rs 2 lakh.

The government is selling over 18.62 crore shares or 3 per cent in Coal India Ltd (CIL) at a floor price of Rs 266 apiece. If fully subscribed, it will fetch the government Rs 5,000 crore.

“A Rs 5,000 crore successful OFS in this volatile and subdued market will help in uplifting investor sentiment in broader market,” officials said.

Coal India scrip slipped to a low of Rs 263.80 apiece during intra-day trade. The scrip closed down 3.73 per cent over previous close on the BSE at Rs 265.60 -- below the floor price of the OFS.

The BSE benchmark Sensex ended 550.92 points up at 34,442.

On top of the 3 per cent stake sale, the government also has an option to retain an oversubscription of another 6 per cent stake in the CIL OFS.