Government returns to Hindustan Copper OFS after five years, offers up to 6% stake at ₹514/share
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The Government of India is set to return to the Offer for Sale (OFS) route for Hindustan Copper Ltd after a five-year gap, offering to sell 3% of its equity with a green-shoe option to divest an additional 3% in case of oversubscription.
The OFS has been announced at a floor price of ₹514 per share, with 10% of the offer reserved for retail investors and an additional 25,000 shares earmarked for eligible employees.
Hindustan Copper shares closed at ₹567.90 on August 24, according to the market data shown in the stock-price screenshot, making the OFS floor price about 73% below the day's closing price.
Based on HCL's paid-up equity of about 96.7 crore shares, the base 3% offer represents roughly 2.9 crore shares and could fetch around ₹447 crore at the floor price. If the full 6% offer is exercised, the government could raise around ₹894 crore.
Government stake currently at 66.14%
The latest OFS comes with the government holding 66.14% of Hindustan Copper. HCL's company profile confirms that the Government of India owns 66.14% of the company as of March 31, 2026.
The government has been reducing its holding in the copper producer through a series of transactions over the past decade.
In May 2015, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved the disinvestment of 15% of HCL's paid-up equity through the OFS route, from the government's then 89.95% holding. The first tranche was a 7% OFS conducted in September 2016, through which the government raised about ₹400 crore.
The second tranche came in August 2017. The government initially offered 4%, but increased the offer to 6.83% following strong demand. The sale was expected to raise around ₹400 crore and took the government's holding down to 76.05%.
2021 OFS took stake below 70%
The government subsequently reduced its holding through another round of transactions.
HCL raised ₹500 crore through a QIP in April 2021, equivalent to 4.52% of its then existing share capital. The fresh equity issuance diluted the government's stake from 76.05% to 72.76%.
Following the QIP, the government conducted another 6.62% OFS in September-October 2021, taking its holding to the current 66.14%. HCL's AGM documents record the sequence of the QIP and subsequent government OFS.
Five years since the last government OFS
The latest offer marks the government's return to the HCL OFS market after five years.
Importantly, the current sale should not be described as the remaining portion of the 15% divestment approved in 2015. The government had already sold 7% in 2016 and 6.83% in 2017, taking the total sold under that original plan to 13.83%, leaving 1.17 percentage points from that approval.
The subsequent 6.62% OFS in 2021 was a separate transaction following the QIP.
If the entire 6% offer is exercised this time, the government's holding in HCL would fall from 66.14% to about 60.14%. If only the base 3% is sold, the stake would decline to approximately 63.14%.