Govt planning to sell IRFC shares via OFS: Official

The government listed IRFC on stock exchanges in January 2021.

The government is planning to sell a part of its holding in the state-owned Indian Railway Finance Corp (IRFC) through an offer for sale (OFS) in the current fiscal, an official said on Wednesday.

The government currently holds an 86.36 per cent stake in the financing arm of the Indian Railways. The official said that an inter-ministerial group (IMG) comprising senior officers from the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) and the Railways Ministry has started consultations to decide on the quantum of stake dilution.

To make the central public sector enterprise compliant with Sebi’s minimum public shareholding (MPS) norm, the government has to dilute its 11.36 per cent stake in IRFC. As per MPS norm, a listed entity must have a minimum public float of 25 per cent within five years of listing. "We are assessing investor appetite before deciding on the quantum of dilution," the official told PTI. Shares of IRFC were trading at Rs 50.97 a share, up 0.14 per cent over the previous close on BSE.

At the current market price, sell of 11.36 per cent would fetch the government around Rs 7,600 crore. The government listed IRFC on stock exchanges in January 2021. The share sale consisted of a fresh issue of shares by the company and an additional 4.55 per cent stake dilution by the government. IRFC reported a net profit of Rs 1,557 crore in the quarter ended June, down 6 per cent from 1,660 crore in the corresponding quarter last fiscal Shares of the company hit its lifetime high of Rs 52.70 in early trade on Wednesday. The share price has risen 38 per cent this month.