Government to divest 25% in RailTel, invites bids from merchant bankers to manage IPO

The government is looking to divest up to 25 per cent stake in RailTel Corporation, and is scouting for merchant bankers to manage the listing process. The government will appoint up to three merchant bankers to manage the listing process and has invited bids from them by June 11. The paid up share capital of the Railway PSU stands at Rs 320.93 crore and Profit After Tax for 2017-18 was Rs 156 crore. As on March 31, 2018, RailTel Net worth stood at Rs 1,249 crore. "The Government of India is considering to divest up to 25 per cent paid up equity share capital in RailTel out of its 100 per cent in the domestic market throuh initial public offer (IPO)," the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) said while inviting bids from merchant bankers.

The Miniratna PSU is one of the largest neutral telecom infrastructure providers in the country owning an optic fiber network on exclusive Right of Way (RoW) along railway track. The company provides broadband telecom and multimedia network across the country. In December, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved a plan to list six public sector companies, including RailTel Corp. The government last month raised Rs 476 crore by selling 12 per cent stake in Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL) through IPO.

In current fiscal, DIPAM is also planning to launch IPOs of 2 other rail CPSEs - Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corp (IRCTC) and Indian Railway Finance Corp (IRFC). The government has budgeted to raise Rs 90,000 crore through PSU divestment in the current fiscal, compared to Rs 84,972 crore raised in 2018-19.