New Delhi, Mar 7 (PTI) The government on Thursday said the Offer for Sale (OFS) in NLC India was subscribed nearly three times of the base size on the first day.

Against the offer size of 62,398,647 shares, the company under the administrative control of the coal ministry received bids of 182,223,094, as per the information available on the BSE.

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"Offer for Sale in NLC India Limited received enthusiastic response from non-retail investors today. The issue was subscribed 2.92 times of the base size (Non Retail Category). Govt has decided to exercise the green shoe option. Retail investors get to bid on Monday, 11th March," Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey said in a post on X.

Retail investors can participate in the OFS on Monday as Friday is a market holiday on account of Maha Shivratri.

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The government intends to sell up to 7 per cent stake in NLC India at a floor price of Rs 212 per share in a two-day share sale process.

The company on Thursday expressed its intention to exercise the oversubscription option to the extent of 27,732,732 equity shares (representing 2 per cent of paid-up equity share capital) in addition to 69,331,830 shares (representing 5 per cent of paid-up capital) forming part of the base offer size.

The Rs 2,000 crore OFS was open for institutional investors on Thursday and will open for retail investors on Monday.

The government is selling over 9.7 crore shares at a floor price of Rs 212 apiece. If fully subscribed, including the green shoe option, the share sale would fetch about Rs 2,000 crore to the exchequer.

The floor price is at a discount of about 6.5 per cent over Wednesday's closing share price of NLC on the BSE.

Shares of NLC closed at Rs 218.20, down 3.75 per cent over the previous close.

So far in the current fiscal, the government has realised Rs 12,609 crore through minority stake sales in CPSEs.

Established in 1956, NLC India Ltd, formerly Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd , is into mining and power generation.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)