SAIL FPO within three months, says Verma

Steel Authority of India Ltd, the country's largest producer of steel, said on Thursday its follow-on Public Offer (FPO) may hit the market within three months.

Chairman C S Verma told reporters on the sidelines of SAIL's annual general meeting in New Delhi that under the FPO blueprint, the government plans to offload 10 per cent in the company, while SAIL would issue fresh shares amounting to 10 per cent of its existing share capital in two discrete tranches. Each tranche will consist of 5 per cent (i.e. 20.65 crore shares) of FPO and 5 per cent of disinvestment of government's shareholding in SAIL.

The centre currently holds nearly 86 per cent stake in the public sector undertaking. ''We are planning to go for the FPO by early December as it will be winter vacation thereafter. In case we miss the deadline, then we'll try to bring it by January or early February,'' Verma said after emerging from the AGM.

The government expects to mobilise nearly Rs40,000 crore through disinvestments of different PSUs this fiscal.