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Our Banking Bureau
Mumbai, Nov 13: Banks and financial institutions (FIs) led by the State Bank of India (SBI) have bid for the Concor disinvestment issue at Rs 250. Book-building for the issue closed today, and the pricing for the issue will be decided on November 16 and the allocation will take place on the same day.
The Concor issue is the first among the five public-sector undertakings in the current financial year where the government is divesting its stake to raise about Rs 5,000 crore.
Banking sources said that they have been forced to put in the money at Rs 250 because of pressure from the finance ministry. "The MoF forced the banks to bid at RS 250 (the reserve price fixed for the issue) after it got wind that they were about to bid at below the reserve price", a banker said. As a result some banks which had decided to bid at Rs 230/240 were forced to pull out of the issue.
Sources in the SBI said that it has put in Rs 50 crore. Confirming the move, a top SBI source said,"We have bid Rs 250 and put in Rs 50crore". Among other who have put money into the issue are the Industrial Development Bank of India, Unit Trust of India, ICICI Ltd, General Insurance Corporation, Life Insurance Corporation and a clutch of Foreign Institutional Investors. The price is likely to be Rs 250 sources as most of the book has been built at around that price.
The Concor scrip was last traded at Rs 404.80 at the National Stock Exchange while at the Bombay Stock Exchange the scrip traded at Rs 378.
Merchant banking sources said that the issue has done well. They refused to speak about the pricing. "We cannot say anything now about the price but most of the large banks and FIs have put in money", a source handling the issue said. Sources added that most of the bids from FIs and banks came on only the last day and added that the bulk of the bidding has come from them.
The issue which opened to investors on opened on November 2 after a presentation by merchant bankers to investors will close on November 13. It between it had runinto rough weather after the banks and FI's indicated that they were will to bid at Rs 210 to Rs 230.
Warburg Dillon Read is the global co-ordinator for the issue while the rest of the syndicate comprise of DSP Merrill Lynch, Unit Trust of India are the co-lead in the domestic market.
The government is selling 9 million shares of which four million are new shares being issued by the company. Following the disinvestment the government's stake will fall to 63 per cent from 77 per cent.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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