Hindustan Copper OFS oversubscribed 3.41 times; retail investors can bid on Wednesday

New Delhi: The Government’s offer for sale (OFS) in Hindustan Copper Ltd. (HCL) received a strong response from non-retail investors on Tuesday, with bids worth nearly Rs 4,580 crore coming in for the 3% base offer. The issue was subscribed 3.41 times on the first day, prompting the Centre to exercise the entire green-shoe option.

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According to stock exchange data, investors bid for 8.91 crore shares against 2.61 crore shares on offer in the non-retail category. At the OFS floor price of Rs 514 a share, the total bids were worth approximately Rs 4,580 crore.

The government had initially offered a 3 percent stake in Hindustan Copper, with an option to sell an additional 3% through the green-shoe mechanism in case of oversubscription. With the full green-shoe option now being exercised, the total stake on offer will rise to 6 percent.

“The government has decided to exercise the entire green shoe option,” Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) Secretary Arunish Chawla said in a post on X.

The OFS floor price of Rs 514 represents a 10.38% discount to Hindustan Copper’s closing price on the BSE on Monday. The stock came under pressure after the stake-sale announcement and fell 7.04% on Tuesday to close at Rs 533.20 a share on the BSE.

The full 6% stake sale at the floor price would involve about 5.22 crore shares and have a notional value of roughly Rs 2,683 crore. The actual proceeds to the government will depend on the final allocation price.

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Retail investors and eligible employees will get an opportunity to participate in the OFS on Wednesday, August 26. Ten per cent of the offer has been reserved for retail investors, while 25,000 shares have been set aside for eligible employees.

The Hindustan Copper sale is part of the Centre’s broader disinvestment programme. So far in the current financial year, the government has raised Rs 52,716 crore through PSU disinvestment, according to government-linked disclosures cited in reports. For FY27, the Budget has set a target of Rs 80,000 crore through disinvestment and asset monetisation.

The strong institutional response to the Hindustan Copper OFS comes as the government continues to use stake sales in listed public-sector companies to raise resources and increase the public float of state-owned enterprises.

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