Centre begins process for IRCTC minority stake sale

• DIPAM has floated a request for proposal (RFP), seeking to engage merchant bankers and selling brokers for the IRCTC OFS

• The government is also considering allotting shares to eligible and willing employees of IRCTC at a discount to the issue/discovered price

New Delhi: The Centre has begun the process of minority stake sale in state-run Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) through an Offer for Sale (OFS). The Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) has floated a request for proposal (RFP) on Thursday, seeking to engage merchant bankers and selling brokers for the IRCTC OFS. The department has asked interested entities to submit their bids online by September 10.

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"The GoI intends to disinvest a part of the paid-up equity capital of IRCTC out of its shareholding through Offer for Sale (OFS) method of shares by promoters through the stock exchanges as per Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) Rules and Regulations," the RFP floated by DIPAM said.

Govt to allot shares to eligible and willing employees

The government is also considering allotting shares to eligible and willing employees of IRCTC at a discount to the issue/discovered price (lowest cut off price) up to a maximum of certain percentage of the OFS size, subsequent to the completion of the transaction under OFS. The percentage and extent shall be decided in due course, said DIPAM.

IRCTC has authorised capital of Rs 250 cr

The authorised capital of IRCTC is Rs 250 crore and paid-up capital is Rs 160 crore. As on date, the Ministry of Railways, holds 87.40 percent of the paid-up share capital of the company amounting to 13,98,40,000 shares. IRCTC earned a total revenue of Rs 2,353.54 crore in FY20, up 20.14 percent from the total revenue of Rs 1,958.94 crore earned in FY19. IRCTC had paid an interim dividend of Rs 160.00 crore and the board recommended the final dividend of Rs 40.00 crore, aggregating to a total of Rs 200.00 crore for FY 2019-20. IRCTC's profit before tax grew 55.75 percent to Rs 745.35 crore in FY20 from Rs 478.56 crore in FY19, while the total comprehensive income saw a rise of 69.96 percent to Rs 524.88 crore in FY20 from Rs 308.82 crore in FY19.

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