Cochin Shipyard shares fell by 5% after government plans to sell stake worth Rs 2,026 cr

New Delhi: The shares of Cochin Shipyard fell by 4.90 percent to Rs 1,590 per share on the BSE during Wednesday's intraday trading. This drop followed an announcement by the company in an exchange filing, stating that the Indian government plans to divest approximately 5 percent of its stake in Cochin Shipyard through an offer for sale (OFS) at Rs 1,540 per share.

This represents a 7.8 percent discount on the previous day's closing price. The total value of the stake is estimated to be around Rs 2,026 crore The offer includes a base sale of 2.5 per cent, with an option to sell an additional 2.5 per cent.

“Government of India proposes to sell up to 65,77,020 equity shares of the company, representing 2.50 percent stake as a ‘Base Offer’ on October 16, 2024, for non-retail investors only and on October 17, 2024, for retail investors, with an option to additionally sell 65,77,020 equity shares (representing 2.50 percent stake) and the ‘Oversubscription Option’ through a separate, designated window of the Stock Exchanges, collectively representing 5.00 percent of the total issued and paid up equity share capital of the company,” the public sector undertaking said in an exchange filing.

Non-retail investors can participate in the sale starting October 16, with retail investors following on October 17. The government held a 72.86 percent stake in Cochin Shipyard as of June 30.  To date, the government has generated Rs 31.61 billion from divestments this fiscal year, though it has not set a specific divestment target for the year, according to reports.