Top-rung bankers queue up to woo PowerGrid

India's capital city on Tuesday was witness to a beauty pageant of a different kind. Top-rung bankers from foreign and domestic banks descended upon the capital to make their pitch for PowerGrid Corporation’s follow-on public offer (FPO).

The ‘beauty parade’ had 17 participants or bidders for the mandate to manage the stake sale of this state-owned transmission utility. While 10 banks made their presentation on Tuesday, the remaining seven will do so today (Wednesday).

The government, which currently holds a 86.36% stake, had in July approved a 10% stake sale in Power Grid. The follow-on public offer, which is expected to fetch Rs 8,400 crore, will help the government finance its fiscal deficit. It will also provide funds to the company for its capital expansion plans, amounting to Rs 58,000 crore, said officials.

Contributed by Deeptha Rajkumar & Vijay Gurav.