The Hindu Business Line : Govt receives more than 30 EoIs for Maruti stake

THE Government has received Expression of Interest (EoI) from more than 30 entities for picking up an 8 per cent stake in Maruti Udyog Ltd (MUL). "The response to the Expression of Interest offer has been very good. We have had more than 30 parties responding. We will now invite financial bids from interested parties shortly and then firm up the process," a senior Government official told Business Line.

While officials refused to divulge the names of those who have put in EoI, sources said that large PSU banks, including Bank of Baroda, Punjab National Bank, and Canara Bank, and Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) were keen to participate in the process.

The Government had stipulated that only domestic public sector financial institutions and public sector banks were eligible for putting in EoI for picking up the stake in MUL.

The sale is to be done through the competitive bidding process. The Government currently holds 18.28 per cent of equity in MUL.

The minimum bid value has been fixed at Rs 10 crore and the maximum bid size is 2,31,12,804 shares (which is the number of shares being divested). However, the Government has said that the present holding of the institution in Maruti and shares transferred from government to it should not exceed 10 per cent equity of MUL on the date of such transfer.

Going by the current price of Maruti's scrip on stock exchanges, the Government can raise around Rs 1,500 crore from the sale. The Maruti share ended the day at Rs 662.30 on the Bombay Stock Exchange, while on the National Stock Exchange the scrip closed at Rs 662.35.

SBI Capital Markets Ltd and Kotak Mahindra Capital Company Ltd have been jointly appointed as Advisors.

In June 2003, the Government sold a 27.5-per cent stake in MUL to the public at a price of Rs 125 per share and mopped up Rs 993 crore. Before that, the Government had held a 45.8-per cent stake in MUL, comprising 13.23 crore shares of Rs 5 each.