Govt to sell up to 4.9% stake in SJVN via OFS; floor price set at Rs 69/share

Government announced on Wednesday that it will sell up to 4.9 per cent stake in power producer SJVN Ltd via Offer For Sale and has fixed floor price at Rs 69 per share.

Government will sell up to 2.46 per cent stake in the company as base offer via OFS and has retained oversubscription option for another 2.46 per cent.

The OFS opens on September 21 for non-retail investors and on September 22 for retail investors. Government will sell 9.66 crore shares with face value of Rs 10 as part of base offer and might sell 9.66 crore additional shares as part of green shoe option. Floor price of Rs 69 represents 16% discount from SJVN scrip's closing price of Rs 82.1 on Wednesday.

"Offer for sale in SJVN opens tomorrow for non-retail investors. Retail investors can bid on Friday. Government will divest 4.92 per cent equity including a Green Shoe option of 2.46 per cent," posted Secretary, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management on X (formerly Twitter). Centre owns 59.92% stake in the state-run hydropower generation company, and Himachal Pradesh owns 26.85% stake.

Shares of SJVN Ltd, formerly known as Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam, on Wednesday jumped over 7 per cent after the company said it has inked an initial pact with Power Finance Corporation (PFC) to get finance for its projects worth Rs 1.18 lakh crore.

The stock rallied 6.78 per cent to settle at Rs 81.75 apiece on the BSE. During the day, it jumped 9.31 per cent to reach its 52-week high of Rs 83.69.

On the NSE, it climbed 7.11 per cent to end at Rs 82.10 per piece.

The company added Rs 2,039.57 crore taking its market valuation to Rs 32,126.08 crore.

In volume terms, 62.62 lakh shares of the company were traded on the BSE and over 15.69 crore shares on the NSE during the day.

''PFC and the company have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for financial assistance to various diversified portfolio of projects, including majorly Renewable Energy projects and thermal generation projects to be set up at a total project cost of about Rs 1,18,826 crore,'' a BSE filing said.

The term loan financial assistance is tentatively proposed at 70 per cent of the project cost, which may be increased for renewable energy projects as per project requirements, it stated.

Centre has so far raised Rs 5,600 crore through stake sales in state-run firms in the fiscal year 2023/24 compared with a target of Rs 51,000 crore.

The SJVN sale will help the government to achieve the minimum public shareholding set out by the capital market regulator, the firm said in an exchange filing.

Minimum public shareholding norms require listed companies maintain an at least 25% public shareholding.