NLC India OFS opens for retail today after strong non-retail response - All you need to know

Shares of NLC India fell as much as 3% on Wednesday, June 10, after the government's Offer for Sale (OFS) of state-run miner and power producer opened for retail investors, following a strong response from institutional investors on the first day.

The government has decided to exercise the entire greenshoe option after the non-retail portion was oversubscribed 5.22 times, taking the total offer size to 3% of the company's equity capital from the initially planned 2%.

According to the Secretary of the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM), allocation in the OFS will be on a price-priority basis.

What is the NLC India OFS?

Under the OFS, the Centre, acting through the Ministry of Coal, is Life Insurance Corporation of India, with a greenshoe option to sell an additional 1.39 crore shares, equivalent to 1% of the company's equity capital.

Following the exercise of the oversubscription option, the total issue size now stands at 4.16 crore shares, or 3% of the company's paid-up equity share capital as of March 31, 2026.

What is the offer price?

The floor price for the OFS has been fixed at ₹303 per share, representing a discount of nearly 8% to Tuesday's closing price of ₹328.60.

According to BSE data, the non-retail portion of the OFS cleared at ₹323.10 per share, above the floor price of ₹303. The indicative price for bids stood at ₹319.06 per share.

Who can apply and how much is reserved?

As part of the issue structure, 10% of the offer shares, or about 41.6 lakh shares, have been reserved for retail investors. Retail investors can bid for shares worth up to ₹2 lakh across stock exchanges.

Eligible employees can also participate in the offer and may apply for shares worth up to ₹5 lakh, subject to a maximum allotment of 25,000 shares. Allocation priority for employees will be given to applications of up to ₹2 lakh.

How can retail investors apply?

Retail investors can place bids through their brokers' OFS or corporate action window on stock exchange platforms.

Investors need to specify the quantity and bid price, which must be at or above the applicable cut-off price to avoid rejection.

Applicants must also ensure they have sufficient funds in their trading account, as the bid amount is blocked until the allotment process is completed.

Who owns NLC India?

The government currently owns a 72.2% stake in NLC India, according to the company's March quarter shareholding pattern. Following the completion of the OFS, the government's stake will reduce by up to 3 percentage points.

Among the public shareholders, mutual funds of India had a 9.49% stake in the company, led mainly by Nippon Life India AMC (5.65%) and Kotak Mahindra MF (2.6%).

SBI Life Insurance has a 2.17% stake in the company, followed by the Life Insurance Corporation of India (1.83%).

Close to 3 lakh small retail shareholders, or those with an authorised share capital of up to ₹2 lakh, have a 3.68% stake in the company.

The State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu and the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation are also classified as public shareholders.

ICICI Securities and DAM Capital Advisors have been appointed as the brokers for the share sale.

Shares of NLC India are trading 3% down at ₹318.20 on Wednesday. The stock has gained 24% so far this year.