The Centre is likely to divest a 3-4 per cent stake worth ₹10,000 crore ($1.06 billion) in state-run miner Coal India via the offer-for-sale (OFS) route, CNBC-TV18 reported on Thursday.
The government is likely to offer the shares at an attractive discount to the current market price, according to the sources.
In response to CNBC-TV18’s query, Coal India said it has not received any communication from the government regarding any potential OFS. A comment from the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) is awaited.
At the end of the March quarter, the government had a 63.1 per cent stake in Coal India. Among the public shareholders, India’s mutual funds have a 9.5 per cent stake in Coal India. Life Insurance Corporation of India acts as one of the biggest institutional shareholders with an 11.05 per cent stake.
Foreign portfolio investors had an 8.38 per cent stake, and as many as 25.3 lakh retail shareholders, or those with authorised share capital of up to ₹2 lakh, have a 3.82 per cent stake in the company.
Shares of Coal India were trading 2 per cent lower on Thursday after the newsbreak at ₹460.1, before closing at 466.40. The stock has risen 22 per cent over the last 12 months.
