India's SCI $320 mln share sale to open by early Dec

State-owned Shipping Corporation of India's $320 million share sale is likely to hit the market in the last week of November or early December, its chairman Sabyasachi Hajara said today.

State-owned Shipping Corporation of India's $320 million share sale is likely to hit the market in the last week of November or early December, its chairman Sabyasachi Hajara told reporters on Saturday.

HT Image

The firm expects to receive regulatory approval for the follow-on public offer in a couple of days, following which it will file the final copy of the red-herring prospectus with the registrar of companies, said Hajara, who is traveling to the UK and the U.S. next week for roadshows.

The government will sell a 10 percent stake in the shipping services firm and the company will issue another 10 percent of fresh equity. India plans to sell stakes in Indian Oil Corp and Steel Authority of India Ltd in the last quarter of this fiscal year ending in March.

Proceeds from the share sale will be used to fund acquisition of 9 vessels, of which it will place orders for two very large crude carriers and three containers next week, Hajara said.

Shipping Corp, which has a market value of $1.65 billion, has shortlisted SBI Capital, ICICI Securities and IDFC Capital as lead managers for the offer.