Centre plans to sell some stake in IRCTC

New Delhi: The Centre government plans to sell part of its stake in Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corp (IRCTC) in the current fiscal, and has invited bids from merchant bankers for managing the sale process.

"The GoI intends to disinvest a part of the paid up equity capital of IRCTC out of its shareholding through 'Offer for Sale (OFS) method of shares by promoters through the stock exchanges' as per Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) Rules and Regulations," said the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) while inviting Request for Proposal (RFP).

The merchant bankers will have to submit their bids by September 10. The government currently holds 87.40 per cent stake in IRCTC. To meet Sebi's public holding norm, the government has to lower its stake in the company to 75 per cent. Shares of IRCTC closed at Rs 1,346.65 apiece on the BSE, down 1.20 per cent over its previous close.

IRCTC, the only entity authorised by Indian Railways to provide catering services to railways, online railway tickets and packaged drinking water at railway stations and trains in India, was on the stock exchanges in October 2019. The company had raised Rs 645 crore through the IPO.

IRCTC OFS will help the government inch forward in meeting the Rs 2.10 trillion disinvestment target. Of this, Rs 1.20 trillion will come from disinvestment of public sector undertakings and another Rs 90,000 crore from stake sale in financial institutions.