SCI follow-on share sale subscribed nearly 5 times
03 Dec 2010
The follow-on share sale of state-run Shipping Corporation of India (SCI), expected to raise up to Rs1,200 crore ($259 million), was subscribed nearly 5 times by the close of subscription today.
SCI, which offered to sell 84.69 million shares, received bids for 416.45 million shares, stock exchange data showed.
The government is offloading a 10 per cent stake in the country's biggest shipping company while SCI is issuing another 10 per cent of fresh equity.
The share offer with a price band of Rs135-140, opened for subscription on 30 November and closed for qualified institutional buyers yesterday. The offer closed for all other bidders at the close of trading today.
The retail portion is reported to have subscribed nearly 7 times while the institutional investors have bid for 4.2 times the shares reserved for them.
Coming close on the heels of successful share sales by Manganese Ore India Ltd (MOIL) and Coal India's record $3.4 billion initial public offer in October, SCI's performance marks the latest market success for the government.
While a major part of the proceeds of the share sale would go to the government, Shipping Corporation proposes to use the remaining amount to fund acquisitions and expansion.