ONGC's FPO postponed by 15 days

NEW DELHI: The government has postponed the proposed Rs 12,000-crore share sale in state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp ( ONGC) by 15 days to early October.

A group of ministers headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee was to meet tomorrow to decide on the price band of ONGC's follow-on-public ( FPO) but the meeting has been postponed, sources said.

The Department of Disinvestment (DOD) sent out a letter saying the meeting has been postponed, but did not offer either a new date or the reason for the deferment.

The FPO was to open on September 20 and going by the 15- day postponement, it may now hit the market on October 5.

Earlier this month, ONGC had filed a red herring prospectus (RHP) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for the FPO.

The government plans to sell 5 per cent, or 427.77 million shares, through the offer.

After the FPO, the government's stake in ONGC will come down to 69.14 per cent from the current 74.14 per cent.

The FPO was originally planned in the 2010-11 fiscal, but the launch was later deferred to April 5 as the company did not have adequate number of independent directors on its board to meet SEBI's listing norms.

It was then rescheduled for July 5, but was again deferred due to adverse market conditions.