NTPC OFS sees lacklustre retail demand, govt may get Rs 5,000 crore

New Delhi: Government Wednesday moped up nearly Rs 5,030 crore from the sale of its 5 percent stake in NTPC but the retail investor portion remained under-subscribed.

The two-day offer for sale (OFS) which opened for retail investors today saw bids for only about 3.63 crore shares coming from retail investors as against over 8.24 crore reserved for them. The retail investor portion was subscribed only 44.11 percent.

However, the government has the option to allot the unsubscribed retail quota to institutional buyers, who had yesterday subscribed 1.88 times the shares offered to them.

The government sold over 41.22 crore shares or 5 percent in NTPC, the nation's largest power generator, at a floor price of Rs 122 apiece through the OFS spread over two days. Of this, over 32.98 crore share were offered to institutional investors yesterday.

Bidding for the remaining over 8.24 crore shares happened today by the retail investors who were given a 5 percent additional discount.

"Cut off Price with respect to Non retail Category of NTPC has been fixed at Rs 122.05," it said.

At a floor price of Rs 122 apiece, sale of over 41.22 crore shares would fetch Rs 5,030 crore to the exchequer.

Following broader market trends, the NTPC scrip dipped 4.20 percent over previous close to Rs 118.70 on the BSE. The BSE Sensex too lost 321 points or 1.37 percent to close at 23,088.

Institutional investors, including FIIs and insurance companies, had yesterday put in bids worth Rs 7,287 crore worth of shares, against Rs 4,000 crore reserved for them.

NTPC share sale, the sixth disinvestment of current fiscal, is the first under Sebi's revised OFS rules that allow the bidding for shares spread over two days.

After the sale, the government will continue to hold a majority stake of 69.96 percent in NTPC.

SBICAP Securities, ICICI Securities, Edelweiss Securities and Deutsche Equities are acting as merchant bankers for the share sale.

The Cabinet in May had approved the 5 percent stake sale in NTPC. The government holds 74.96 percent in the firm. It had last sold stake in NTPC in February 2013.

So far this fiscal, government has raised over Rs 13,300 crore through disinvestment in five PSUs - EIL, Indian Oil Corp, PFC, REC and Dredging Corporation. This is against a target of Rs 69,500 crore for 2015-16.