Govt to decide on Maruti stake sale this month
The government will take a decision on the sale of its remaining 10.27 per cent stake, or 2.96 crore shares, in the country’s largest car maker Maruti Udyog Ltd (MUL) this month.
"A decision will be taken this month and implementation will be done next month," Heavy Industries Minister Santosh Mohan Dev told reporters on the sidelines of SCOPE directors’ conclave on corporate governance.
The minister said a final note has been moved for the consideration of various ministries and coalition partners.
"I am sure that they (coalition partners) will not object to it," Dev said, adding he would meet leaders of Left parties in a day or two to discuss the issue.
Finance Minister P Chidambaram had earlier said that the government should wait for the stock markets to stabilize in order to maximise the sale value.
Dev said a group of officers, headed by a finance ministry official, would decide on the mode of selling the shares so that a right price can be arrived at.
The government is expected to invite competitive bids for the stake sale, similar to the process in January when it offloaded 8 per cent stake to Suzuki Motor Corp for Rs 1,567.60 crore.
The government had handed over the majority stake to Suzuki in 2002. A year later, it shed 27 per cent of its stake through an initial public offer.
Maruti shares are ruling at around Rs 940 on the stock exchange. At this price level the stake, comprising 2.96 crore shares, could fetch the government around Rs 2,793 crore.
