New Delhi, Mar 31: The government's 1.5 per cent stake sale in ONGC had a smooth start on Wednesday, with institutional buyers putting in bids worth Rs 4,854 crore and over-subscribing the portion reserved for them.

The government is selling up to 1.5 per cent of its stake in the country's top oil and gas producer ONGC at a floor price of Rs 159 a share to raise about Rs 3,000 crore through an offer for sale (OFS).

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Institutional investors over-subscribed their portion by 3.57 times by putting in bids for over 30.35 crore shares. Over 8.49 crore shares were reserved for them.

At the indicative price of Rs 159.91 a share, the bids by institutional investors are worth Rs 4,854 crore.

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The offer for sale will open for retail investors on Thursday. The government is selling over 9.43 crore shares in ONGC with a green-shoe option of selling an equal number of shares. The total stake on the offer is up to 1.5 per cent.

Shares of ONGC closed at Rs 162.25, down 5.14 per cent over the previous close on the BSE.

So far in the current fiscal the government has mopped up Rs 12,423.67 crore through OFS, employee OFS, strategic disinvestment and buyback. The disinvestment target for the fiscal is Rs 78,000 crore.

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