The government has picked seven banks to manage its offer for sale issue of Coal India Ltd, as part of its disinvestment plan as it struggles to meet fiscal deficit targets in a deteriorating economy. It has picked Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse, SBI Capital, JM Financial and Kotak Mahindra Capital for the share sale, according to Reuters quoting sources.
The Indian government owns 90 per cent of the public listed coal miner which went public a few years ago and is looking to divest around 5 per cent stake. At the current market price it could fetch around Rs 7,900 crore ($1.16 billion).
Coal India has lost around one-third of its share value since the beginning of the year, underperforming the top stock indices which have been weak due to concerns over tapering of easy monetary policy in the US.
The government had previously raised a little over Rs 15,000 crore by selling 10 per cent stake of the public sector firm three years ago.
The share sale could be launched as soon as October depending on the market conditions, according to Reuters.
Coal India scrip closed at Rs 249.95, down 1.65 per cent, in a strong Mumbai market on Thursday.
(Edited by Joby Puthuparampil Johnson)
