SAIL OFS helps govt get Rs 23,920 cr via disinvestment in FY13

Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) once again helped the government sail through the the truncated disinvestment of Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL).

The government's stake sale in in SAIL on Friday fetched Rs 1,516 crore and helped take the year's proceeds from PSU stake sales to Rs 23,920 crore.

Aided by LIC's bulk purchase, the 5.82 per cent or 24.03 crore government share sale of SAIL barely managed to scrape through at the close of market hours on Friday with foreign investors putting in only about Rs 200 crore.

Data available from the stock exchange showed the issue was not fully subscribed at the close of trading hours.

However, the final figures posted after an hour showed bids for 24.13 crore shares.

Sources said 50 per cent of the total bids came in from insurers, including a hefty demand from Life Insurance Corporation (LIC).

The Offer For Sale (OFS) received bids for 24.13 crore shares at an indicative price of Rs 63.07 apiece, fetching the government Rs 1,516 crore. SAIL shares closed at Rs 63.40, down 0.78 per cent on the BSE on Friday.

An inter-ministerial panel had earlier this week decided to halve the SAIL offer size to 5.82 per cent from the earlier planned and Cabinet approved 10.82 per cent, amid a weak trend in the stock market.

SAIL stake sale was the last disinvestment for the current fiscal , ending on March 31. With this, disinvestment proceeds would go up to around Rs 23,920 crore, the highest ever realisation on disinvestment front in a single year, missing the Rs 24,000 crore target by a whisker.

The government has sold stake in seven companies -- NMDC, Hindustan Copper, Oil India, NTPC, RCF, Nalco and SAIL -- in the current fiscal. The proceeds from disinvestment would help government bridge its fiscal deficit which is estimated to be 5.2 per cent of GDP in 2012-13.

With PTI inputs