Central Bank Of India Stake Sale: The Government of India has initiated the process to divest its stake in Central Bank of India via the offer for sale (OFS) route, notified the Secretary, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM), Ministry of Finance. ''Offer for Sale of equity in Central Bank of India opens tomorrow for Non-Retail investors. Retail investors can bid on Monday. Government offers to disinvest 4% equity in the Central Bank of India with an additional 4% as green shoe option,'' said Arunish Chawla, Secretary, DIPAM in a post on 'X' (formerly Twitter) late Thursday night.
The floor price for the OFS has been set at Rs 31 per equity share, which is at a discount of 8.6% to Thursday's closing price of Rs 33.94 apiece on the NSE. Under the base offer, the government proposes to sell 36,20,56,051 equity shares of face value Rs 10 each, representing 4% of the total issued and paid-up equity share capital worth Rs 1,122.4 crore at the floor price. The government will also exercise a greenshoe option to sell an additional 36,20,56,051 equity shares of the bank, representing another 4% stake in the public sector lender, in the event of an oversubscription.
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Central Bank Of India OFS: Dates, Allocation, Bidding
This means the promoter plans to offload a total of 72.41 crore shares or upto 8% stake in the public sector lender. If the green shoe option is exercised, the government is likely to raise around Rs 2,455 crore via the stake sale. The move is aimed at helping the bank move closer to complying with the Securities and Exchange Board of India's (SEBI) Minimum Public Shareholding (MPS) norms, which require all listed public companies to maintain a public float of at least 25%. Currently, government's or promoter holding in the bank stands at a high of 89.27% or worth 8,08,03,91,687 shares.
If the government exercises the greenshoe option, its total stake in the state-owned bank will come down to 81.27%. In order to be compliant with SEBI's MPS, the government will have to sell another 14.27% stake in Central Bank of India and reduce its holding to 75% to comply with SEBI's MPS norms, which mandated listed companies to maintain at least 25% public shareholding.
Goldman Sachs (India) Securities Private Ltd has been appointed as the broker for the seller in the transaction. The OFS is being conducted in accordance with SEBI's OFS guidelines and stock exchange regulations. The government clarified that the shares offered through the OFS would continue to trade in the normal market segment during the issue period. The notice also specified that the offer could be withdrawn or cancelled under certain conditions, including insufficient demand or market-related factors.
Athe end of the March quarter, while the government held an 89.27% stake in Central Bank of India, public shareholders owned the remaining 10.73%. Retail investors, defined as those holding shares worth up to Rs 2 lakh, held a 3.42% stake in the lender. Out of the total offer, 10% has been reserved for retail investors, while mutual funds and insurance companies have a 25% reservation, according to the offer document.
Additionally, up to 75 lakh equity shares may be offered to eligible employees of the bank under the employee reservation portion of the OFS, subject to the necessary approvals. In line with OFS guidelines, eligible employees can apply for shares worth up to Rs 5 lakh. Retail investors will also be eligible to bid at the cut-off price under the OFS mechanism.
Central Bank Of India OFS
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"The offer shall take place over two trading days on a separate window of the stock exchanges on May 22, 2026 (T day) and May 25, 2026 (T+1 day), commencing from 9:15 a.m. and shall close on the same date at 3:30 p.m. on both days," said Central Bank of India in its statement. "Only non-retail investors shall be allowed to place their bids on T day, i.e., May 22, 2026. While placing their bids, non-retail investors may indicate their willingness to carry forward their un-allotted bids to T+1 day for allocation to them in the unsubscribed portion of retail category," it added. The OFS is scheduled for May 22 and May 25, 2026.
Non-retail investors can subscribe to the OFS on Friday between 9:15 am and 3:30 pm. Non-retail investors will also have the option to carry forward their unallotted bids to T+1 day. Retail investors and employees will be able to subscribe to the issue on Monday, May 25 during the same trading hours. The government said employee eligibility would be determined based on PAN details shared by the bank with stock exchanges one trading day before the OFS opening date. Retail investors, employees and for non-retail investors that choose to carry forward their un-allotted bids from T day, can bid on Monday.
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