ONGC ready for over Rs 11K share sale, govt to decide when

State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) today said it is ready for the Rs 11,500 crore share sale but the call on timing will have to be taken by the government.

"The Government of India (which plans to sell 5 per cent of its stake in ONGC through the follow-on public offer) has to take a call. We are prepared," ONGC Chairman and Managing Director Sudhir Vasudeva told reporters here.

The government had on September 15 postponed the FPO owing to market uncertainties.

"The market has been behaving erratically," he said, "The government has to take a call (on the FPO)."

The follow-on public offer (FPO) was to open on September 20, but has been put off days ahead of its opening. No new dates have been communicated.

The government plans to sell 5%, or 427.77 million shares, through the offer.

After the FPO, the government's stake in ONGC will come down to 69.14% from the current 74.14%.

The FPO was originally planned in 2010-11, but the launch was later deferred to April 5, as the company did not have an adequate number of independent directors on its board to meet market regulator SEBI's listing norms.

It was then rescheduled for July 5, but was again deferred due to adverse market conditions.