Govt eyes Rs 645cr in IRCTC IPO

Mumbai: The government plans to mobilise up to Rs 645 crore by divesting 12.6% of its stake in IRCTC, a mini-ratna company that provides online railway tickets and on-train catering services. The initial public offer (IPO) for IRCTC will remain open between September 30 and October 3, a release from the company said. The government is selling a little over 2 crore shares of the company at a price band of Rs 315-320 apiece.Retail investors and its employees will get a discount of Rs 10 per share on the final IPO price.
The IPO for IRCTC, which is under the railways ministry, is being managed by IDBI Capital Markets, SBI Capital Markets and Yes Securities.
The divestment is part of the government’s total target of raising Rs 1.05 lakh crore through sale of stakes in various PSUs. In April, the government had divested 12.2% stake in Rail Vikas Nigam (RVNL) to raise Rs 480 crore. In the previous fiscal, two more companies under the railways ministry — Ircon International and RITES — were listed through IPOs in which the government had divested part of its stakes.