Five merchant bankers named for Govt’s 10% CIL stake throw-away

Government has shortlisted five Indian merchant bankers, including JM Financial, SBI Capital and ICICI Securities, for managing the over Rs 21,000-crore stake sale in Coal India.

Besides, Axis Capital and Kotak Mahindra Capital have also been selected for managing the stake sale of the 'Maharatna' PSU, sources said. This would be the first big PSU disinvestment to be managed by only Indian investment bankers. The Cabinet had last week approved 10 per cent stake sale in Coal India.

As many as seven merchant bankers had bid for managing the disinvestment of Coal India. Shares of Coal India Ltd on Thursday closed at Rs 335.90, up 1.07 per cent on BSE. At the current market prices, sale of 63.16 crore shares, or 10 per cent stake, would bring in around Rs 21,200 crore. The government had last sold 10 per cent in the blue-chip on January 31, at the floor price of Rs 358 apiece and garnered Rs 22,557 crore. 

The government had earlier extended deadline for the appointment of merchant bankers for the share sale in Coal India after global investment banks flagged concerns over the company allegedly not meeting green commitments.

Government currently holds 79.65 per cent in Coal India. CIL was listed on November 4, 2010 and its market value stands at over Rs 2 lakh crore.