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The Government of India has raised an estimated Rs 2,084 crore through the Offer for Sale (OFS) of Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC), with the issue receiving strong participation from both institutional and retail investors.
Sharing the update in a social media post on Thursday, the Secretary, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM), said the OFS witnessed an enthusiastic response from retail investors. "The OFS for Indian Railways Finance Corporation (IRFC) closed with an enthusiastic response from the retail investors. Combined with the institutional investors, 22.88 crore shares were sold to the minority shareholders over the two trading days for an estimated amount of Rs 2,084 crores. We thank all investors for their participation and for reposing their faith in us," the post said. The share of IRFC closed with a decline of 0.79 per cent to Rs 91.77 per share on Thursday. The government had announced on Tuesday its plan to divest up to 2 per cent stake in IRFC through the OFS route. An Offer for Sale (OFS) is a mechanism through which promoters of a listed company, including the government in public sector enterprises, can sell shares on the stock exchange in a transparent manner. Under this process, institutional as well as retail investors can bid for shares during a specified period. According to the government's announcement, it initially offered to sell 1 per cent of its equity holding in IRFC. It had also included a green shoe option of an additional 1 per cent stake, which could be exercised if investor demand remained strong. Investor interest in the issue was evident on the first day itself. On Wednesday, DIPAM informed that the OFS had been subscribed 1.86 times on the opening day, prompting the government to exercise the green shoe option. "Offer for Sale in Indian Railways Finance Corporation (IRFC) received an enthusiastic response from the investors and was oversubscribed 1.86 times on the first day. Government has decided to exercise the green shoe option. Retail investors and employees get to bid on Thursday 25th June 2026," DIPAM had said in a post on X. The decision to exercise the green shoe option allowed the government to increase the size of the stake sale in response to the strong investor demand. The successful completion of the OFS marks another step in the government's disinvestment programme, which aims to reduce its stake in public sector enterprises while increasing public shareholding and broadening investor participation. The strong response from both institutional and retail investors reflects continued investor interest in IRFC, the dedicated financing arm of Indian Railways. (ANI)
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