Oil India share sale commences at bourses; stock falls

State-run Oil India's share sale programme for diluting 10 percent of the government's stake commenced today at bourses. The disinvestment through the offer for sale (OFS) route will close at 3.30 pm today and if fullysubscribed it would fetch Rs 3,065 crore to the exchequer.

The government has fixed the floor or minimum price for sale of its 10 per cent stake in Oil India at Rs 510 per share, a 5.41 per cent discount over the yesterday's closing
price of Rs 539.20.

Meanwhile, the scrip of the company fell by 1.34 per cent Rs 532 a share on the BSE in the early morning trade. The Oil India public offer, the third disinvestment this fiscal, will help the government inch towards its Rs 30,000 crore revenue target from stake sales in profit making PSUs.

At Rs 510 apiece, the stake sale of 6.01 crore shares would fetch Rs 3,065 crore to the exchequer. The government holds 78.43 per cent stake in the company and would come down to 68.43 per cent, after disinvestment. Oil India's paid-up capital as on March 2012, was Rs 601 crore.

As per the disinvestment roadmap of the government, OIL issue was initially slated to happen in the last week of January, to be followed by one PSU stake sale every fortnight. The government has so far raised Rs 6,900 crore through disinvestment in the current fiscal.