New Delhi, May 09: State owned National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) has mandated three renowned Merchant Bankers including Kotak Mahindra and ICICI securities to act as lead managers for its forthcoming Initial Public Offering of shares, slated to hit the market in august. The power major has also appointed Enam financials as the third joint lead manager cum book runner for the ensuing issue of shares, top company officials told pti. NTPC plans to hit the market with a public issue of five per cent of its equity in early august with a total face value of Rs 400 crore. The issue would be priced at a premium to account for the substantial reserves the corporation has built over the years. As many as 12 merchant bankers including HSBC, IDBI, UTI, DSP Merrill Lynch and J M Morgan Stanley had expressed interest to act as lead managers for the issue. Although exact details about the percentage being offered to bankers for the deal were unavailable, sources said the rates were very competitive. Transaction fees for such deals had fallen to an all time low with ONGC and GAIL public offers earlier this year and Merchant Bankers quoting as low as 0.075 per cent and 0.134 per cent respectively for the ONGC and GAIL issues. The corporation had obtained government approval for 10 per cent public float in one or more phases earlier this year. It has also approached SEBI for a waiver of the listing norms which require that at least ten per cent of the equity stock must be floating.
Bureau Report