Indian Government to Sell Up to 5% Stake in Cochin Shipyard

The Indian government will offload a stake of about 5% in shipbuilder Cochin Shipyard COCH.NS, an exchange filing showed on Tuesday.

The floor price for the sale is 1,540 rupees, an 8% discount to the stock's Tuesday close, the filing showed. At this price, the stake is valued at 20.26 billion rupees ($241.2 million).

The base size of the offer will be 2.5%, amounting to about 6.6 million shares, with an option to sell an additional 2.5% stake.

The government has raised 31.61 billion rupees through divestments in the ongoing fiscal year, including 23.46 billion rupees from selling its stake in General Insurance Corporation of India GENA.NS, according to its website.

It has, however, not set a target for divestment for the year, a departure from its usual practice.

The sale of Cochin Shipyard's stake will open on Oct. 16 for non-retail investors and on Oct. 17 for retail investors.

The Indian government held 72.86% stake in Cochin Shipyard as of June 30, according to exchange data.

Cochin Shipyard makes ships including bulk carriers, passenger vessels and aircraft carriers, according to its website.

($1 = 84.0120 Indian rupees)

(Reuters - Reporting by Varun Hebbalalu; Editing by Varun H K)