The government has decided to sell up to 20.65 crore shares or 5 per cent of total equity of Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) through an offer for sale (OFS), the company said in a regulatory filing on Wednesday. The centre also has an greenshoe option to sell an additional 20.65 crore shares in the company.
The government has set floor price of the proposed share sale at Rs 64 per share. The OFS for non-retail investors will open on Thursday and OFS for retail investors will start on Friday.
At least 12.5 per cent of the offer shares will be reserved for retail investors and a minimum 25 per cent of the shares will be reserved for the mutual funds and insurance companies, the company said. No single bidder other than mutual funds registered with SEBI will be allocated more than 25 per cent of the shares.
SAIL is India's largest steel producer, with an annual capacity of about 21 million tonne per annum (MTPA). The government holds 75 per cent stake in the steel major.
At 10 am, the shares of SAIL were trading lower by 8.4 per cent at Rs 68.40 on the BSE. The BSE Sensex was at 49,342.90, lower by 146.25 points or 0.28 per cent and the NSE Nifty was at 14,525.45, down 39.65 points or 0.29 per cent.