The government’s Offer for Sale (OFS) in Central Bank of India was oversubscribed 2.35 times on the first day, driven by strong institutional investor demand, prompting the Centre to exercise the entire greenshoe option ahead of retail bidding on May 25.

The government had initially offered to divest a 4% stake in the bank, with an additional 4% available under the greenshoe option, taking the total equity dilution to 8%. Institutional investors on Friday placed bids worth over Rs 2,380 crore.

“Offer for Sale in Central Bank of India received enthusiastic response from investors and was oversubscribed 2.35 times on the first day. The government has decided to exercise the entire green shoe option. Retail investors and employees get to bid on Monday, May 25, 2026,” Department of Investment and Public Asset Management Secretary Arunish Chawla said in a post on X.

Retail investors and employees will be able to bid in the share sale on Monday. The floor price for the OFS has been fixed at Rs 31 per share. If the entire 8% stake on offer is fully subscribed, the government is expected to raise about Rs 2,456 crore.

The floor price is 8.58% lower than the stock’s Thursday closing price of Rs 33.91 on the BSE. Shares of Central Bank of India fell 7.9% to close at Rs 31.23 on Friday.

The OFS is aimed at helping the bank comply with the Securities and Exchange Board of India’s minimum public shareholding norm of 25%. The government currently holds an 89.27% stake in the lender, which will decline to 81.27% after the stake sale.

For the current fiscal year, the government has set a target of raising Rs 80,000 crore through disinvestment and asset monetisation, significantly higher than the Rs 33,837 crore estimated in the revised estimates for FY26.