Govt for ONGC IPO in March

NEW DELHI: The Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG) for Disinvestment of 10 per cent equity in cash-rich Oil and Natural Gas Corp on Wednesday favoured bringing the public offer in the first week of March while ruling out a split in highly priced ONGC shares.
Officials of merchant bankers gave their suggestions for public offer in ONGC whose share is currently being traded at around Rs 900, at the IMG which comprises officials of disinvestment ministry, oil, finance and law.
Sources associated with the disinvestment of ONGC said the prospectus for the issue, that could help government mobilise over Rs 12,000 crore going by the current market price, will be finalised and submitted to SEBI before the month ends.
The issue of splitting the share of ONGC with a view to increase greater individual participation was discussed at the meeting but a decision was taken against it on the ground that it might not be feasible at the moment.
The Cabinet Committee on Disinvestment (CCD) had last month decided to sell 10 per cent of its equity stake in ONGC and Gail (India) Ltd in capital markets to meet the largely unrealised disinvestment target of Rs 13,200 crore for the current fiscal.