Steel Authority of India (SAIL) Chairman C S Verma on Thursday said the proposed Rs 8,000-crore follow-on public offer of the maharatna company would hit the capital market in the current fiscal.
"We will bring out the FPO in this fiscal only," Verma told reporters here. He added that Attorney General of India (G E Vahanvati) has given the legal opinion on the issue of merchant bankers and a decision on this would be taken in a day or two.
"We have received legal opinion from Attorney General of India and will be calling an FPO committee meeting in a day or so and will take a decision on the merchant bankers," Verma said, although refused to divulge the details.
SAIL in September last year had appointed four major investment bankers - SBI Caps, Kotak Mahindra, Deutsche Bank and HSBC-- to manage the share sale programme.
These four much later accepted rival Tata Steel's FPO as well, inviting the government's ire. Tata Steel concluded its offer January 21 and the FPO was subscribed over six times.
Former Steel Minister Virbhadra Singh had questioned business ethics of the merchant bankers and SAIL had issued a show-cause notice to these investment banks. The whole issue stirred up speculations that SAIL's share sale programme may not happen this fiscal.
The Department of Disinvestment, under the Ministry of Finance, on other hand is keen to complete the FPO as scheduled to ensure that the government meets the target of garnering Rs 40,000 crore from sale of equity in PSUs.
The government intends to sell its five per cent stake in the company to raise an estimated Rs 4,000 crore. The steel giant would issue fresh equity of the same proportion to raise a similar amount.
The government now holds a little over 85 per cent stake in SAIL.
Steel Authority of India (SAIL) Chairman C S Verma on Thursday said the proposed Rs 8,000-crore follow-on public offer of the maharatna company would hit the capital market in the current fiscal.
"We will bring out the FPO in this fiscal only," Verma said. He added that Attorney General of India (G E Vahanvati) has given the legal opinion on the issue of merchant bankers and a decision on this would be taken in a day or two.
"We have received legal opinion from Attorney General of India and will be calling an FPO committee meeting in a day or so and will take a decision on the merchant bankers," Verma said, although refused to divulge the details.
SAIL in September last year had appointed four major investment bankers - SBI Caps, Kotak Mahindra, Deutsche Bank and HSBC-- to manage the share sale programme.
These four much later accepted rival Tata Steel's FPO as well, inviting the government's ire. Tata Steel concluded its offer January 21 and the FPO was subscribed over six times.
Former Steel Minister Virbhadra Singh had questioned business ethics of the merchant bankers and SAIL had issued a show-cause notice to these investment banks. The whole issue stirred up speculations that SAIL's share sale programme may not happen this fiscal.
The Department of Disinvestment, under the Ministry of Finance, on other hand is keen to complete the FPO as scheduled to ensure that the government meets the target of garnering Rs 40,000 crore from sale of equity in PSUs.
The government intends to sell its five per cent stake in the company to raise an estimated Rs 4,000 crore. The steel giant would issue fresh equity of the same proportion to raise a similar amount.
The government now holds a little over 85 per cent stake in SAIL.
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