The central government is looking at up to 10 per cent stake dilution in defence PSU firm Mishra Dhatu Nigam via offer for sale. Govt to offload up to 10% stake in Mishra Dhatu Nigam through OFS

The Government of India is planning to offload up to 10 per cent stake in speciality alloy maker Mishra Dhatu Nigam (MIDHANI) in the current fiscal, according to an official. The state-owned entity is likely to garner good response from foreign investors as the government has brought defence sector under automatic route for 74 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI).

"We are looking at up to 10 per cent stake dilution via offer for sale," news agency PTI quoted the aforementioned official as saying. The company has not made any announcement in this regard. 

The defence PSU firm was listed on domestic bourses in April 2018 and the government had raised Rs 438 crore by selling 26 per cent stake through initial public offer (IPO). 

Headquartered in Hyderabad, MIDHANI is one of the leading manufacturers of special steels, super alloys and only manufacturer of titanium alloys in India. It manufactures special steel and super alloys for use in defence, nuclear and space sectors. 

Meanwhile, shares of Mishra Dhatu Nigam closed Friday's trade at Rs 193.50, up 0.99 per cent, on the Bombay Stock Exchange on Friday. 

The government had set an ambitious disinvestment target of Rs 2.1 lakh crore for financial year 2020-21, including Rs 1.20 lakh crore from stake sale in CPSEs and Rs 90,000 crore from offloading stake in financial institutions. The government is likely to miss its disinvestment target by a huge margin, given the crisis arising out due to the coronavirus outbreak.