Goldman, Citi among 5 banks to advise on IOC share sale

The government has selected five merchant bankers, including Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, to manage the government’s three per cent stake sale in Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), which could fetch about ~6,000 crore to the exchequer. The other bankers who have been selected by the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) for managing the stake sale are Deutsche Equities, SBI Capital Markets and ICICI Securities, sources said.

As many as 10 merchant bankers had made presentations before the DIPAM on Thursday, out of which five were selected.

Other merchant bankers who were vying for the job include Axis Capital, Kotak Investment, Nomura Financial, Edelweiss Financial and IDFC Bank.

Government currently holds 58.28 per cent stake in IOC. It plans to sell three per cent stake in the nation’s largest oil retailer through an offer for sale. Shares of IOC were trading at ~419.05, down 4.65 per cent in morning trade on the BSE.

At the current market price, a three per cent share sale would fetch the exchequer about ~6,000 crore.

The timing of the IOC share sale has not been decided as yet and a final call will be taken after taking into account market conditions, sources said.

The government had last sold 10 per cent stake in IOC at ~387 per share in August 2015 and raised ~9,369 crore. IOC reported an 85 per cent jump in the March quarter net profit at ~3,720.62 crore on higher refining margin and inventory gains.

The company is a major player in the field of petroleum refining, pipeline transportation of crude and petroleum products, marketing of petroleum products, research and development, blending and production of lubricants. It has nine refineries at Guwahati, Bongaigaon and Digboi (Assam), Barauni (Bihar), Koyali, Vadodara (Gujarat), Haldia (West Bengal), Mathura (Uttar Pradesh), Paradip (Odisha) and Panipat (Haryana) with a combined capacity of 69.20 mmtpa as on March 31, 2016.

So far in the current financial year, the government has raised ~1,200 crore through sale of 9.2 per cent stake in Nalco and another ~1,200 crore through initial public offering of Hudco. The government has set a target of raising ~46,500 crore through minority stake sale and ~15,000 crore from strategic disinvestment. In 2016-17, the government had raised over ~46,247 crore from disinvestment.

Govt currently holds 58.28% in IOC. It plans to sell 3% through an offer for sale