Govt raises Rs535 crore from NFL share sale

New Delhi: The government’s 15% stake sale in National Fertilizers Ltd (NFL) Thursday fetched Rs535 crore to the exchequer, with over-subscription from both retail and institutional investors.

The two-day offer for sale (OFS) opened for retail investors Thursday and was over-subscribed 1.66 times.

Against Rs107 crore reserved for retail investors, total bids of Rs178.67 crore were received. Institutional investors’ portion was over-subscribed 1.35 times Wednesday with bids worth Rs578.8 crore coming in against shares for value of Rs428.57 crore at the floor price.

“Overall, NFL OFS for 15% divestment for equity shares of 7.35 crore amounting to Rs535.71 crore at the floor price Rs72.80 per share, received a total demand for equity shares amounting to Rs757.45 crore. Therefore, the OFS of NFL was over-subscribed by 1.41 times,” the finance ministry said in a statement.

This is the third CPSE OFS in the current financial year, and the government is likely to get Rs535 crore approximately, it added.

The government shareholding in NFL after this OFS has come down to 74.71%.