Govt Kickstarts Process To Divest 25 Per Cent Stake In Miniratna PSU National Seeds Corporation Via IPO

Going ahead with its ambitious disinvestment agenda, the government has initiated the process to sell 25 per cent of its stake in National Seeds Corporation (NSC) through an initial public offering (IPO) on the bourses, reports Livemint.

Kickstarting the process, the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) has invited bids from merchant bankers and legal advisors for working on the proposed IPO and subsequent stock exchange listing of the PSU under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.

The government will be appointing up to two merchant bankers for managing the stake sale. The last date for submission of bids by merchant bankers and legal advisors have been set at 1 September.

It should be noted that presently the Government wholly owns NSC. A miniratna public sector undertaking (PSU), NSC had reported a profit after tax of Rs 29.92 crore for fiscal 2019-20. As on 31 March 2020, the company’s net worth stood at Rs 646.37 crore.

Meanwhile, the government is also working on the mega IPO of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) which is likely to be realised in the March quarter of the ongoing fiscal.