The OFS will open for non-retail investors on Wednesday, while retail investors will be able to bid on Thursday, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) Secretary said.
IRFC, a Navratna Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE) under the Ministry of Railways, serves as the dedicated financing arm of Indian Railways and plays a key role in funding railway infrastructure projects and rolling stock acquisitions.
The proposed stake sale forms part of the government’s broader disinvestment strategy aimed at raising resources through market-based offerings in listed public sector companies.
The transaction comes amid a renewed push by the Centre to monetise stakes in state-owned enterprises. Since May 21, the government has mobilised more than ₹16,000 crore through a series of OFSs, including stake sales in Coal India, Central Bank of India, NLC India, NHPC and, most recently,General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC).
Recent PSU OFSs have generally attracted strong participation from both institutional and retail investors, aided by discounts to prevailing market prices. In most transactions this year, the government has exercised the greenshoe option, reflecting healthy investor demand for public sector offerings.
The latest sale also marks a return to the market for IRFC. Earlier this year, the government chose not to exercise the oversubscription option in the company’s Cochin Shipyard after the issue witnessed undersubscription from non-retail investors.
At the time, the Centre had proposed selling a 2% stake with an additional 2% greenshoe option. However, IRFC informed exchanges that the government would not proceed with the additional sale after around 1.18 crore shares remained unsubscribed during the institutional bidding day. Had the greenshoe option been fully exercised at the floor price, the government could have raised more than ₹5,400 crore from the transaction.
IRFC had listed at its issue price of 26 per share back in 2021. After two years of consolidation, the stock more than tripled in value in 2023, going on to make a record high of 229 in 2024. Since then, the stock has been on a downward spiral. As of Monday’s close, the stock is down 57% from the record high levels.
The government continues to hold majority stake in IRFC. At the end of the March quarter, it held a 84.35% stake, which is higher than the Minimum Shareholding norms of 75%.
Among the public shareholders, Mutual Funds have a 0.27% stake, while Life Insurance Corporation of India owns a 2.54% stake. As many as 50 lakh small retail shareholders, or those with authorized share capital of up to ₹2 lakh, own a 9.68% stake in the company.
Cochin Shipyard OFS may be next
Separately, shares of Cochin Shipyard remained in focus after sources told CNBC-TV18 that the government is preparing another OFS in the state-run shipbuilder.
According to sources, the proposed sale could be launched at a discount of 6-8% to the prevailing market price. The Centre currently holds a 67.91% stake in Cochin Shipyard.
Also Read: Cochin Shipyard OFS likely to be launched at 6-8% discount, sources say
If launched, the issue would further underscore the government’s accelerated disinvestment drive, which has gathered pace over the last month amid robust investor appetite for PSU offerings.
