Govt to offload 5% stake in SAIL via offer for sale, may rake in Rs 1,000 crore

The government is planning to sell 5 percent stake in Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) through an offer for sale, which could fetch about Rs 1,000 crore to the exchequer, an official said. Officials from the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) and steel ministry are planning roadshows in Singapore and Hong Kong for SAIL stake sale. However, the Hong Kong roadshow might be called off due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The government holds 75 percent stake in SAIL. It had last sold 5 percent stake in the steel CPSE in December 2014.

"We are looking at a 5 percent stake sale via offer for sale (OFS), but we will assess investor demand in the roadshows," an official said. At the current market price, the government may raise about Rs 1,000 crore by selling 5 percent stake in the company. Shares of SAIL closed at Rs 48.65 apiece on Friday, down 0.51 percent over the previous close on the BSE.

The government may look at completing the transaction in the current fiscal as it strives to achieve the Rs 65,000 crore disinvestment target set in the revised estimates.

So far this fiscal, Rs 34,000 crore has been mopped up from CPSE stake sale and the remaining Rs 31,000 crore has to come in by March-end.

For 2020-21, the government has budgeted to collect Rs 1.20 lakh crore from the CPSE stake sale.

The government is also planning to sell 10 percent stake in Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd (GRSE) through an OFS, out of its shareholding of 74.50 percent.

The stake sale would fetch about Rs 200 crore to the exchequer at the current market price.