Promoter of this railway giant is offloading their stake; shares fall significantly

Government of India is considering cutting down its stake in this company by 5% through an Offer for Sale.

Management of the company on Wednesday, December 15, 2022, informed the exchange about this offer for sale (OFS) and states further that the government will sell up to 5% of IRCTC in an OFS at a floor price of Rs 680 per share, raising up to Rs 2,700 crore. The OFS includes a base issue size of 2 crore shares or 2.5% stake, with the option to retain an additional 2.5% over-subscription, bringing the total issue size to 4 crore shares or 5%.

As a result of this announcement, the shares of IRCTC fell significantly by almost 5.30% during Thursday's early trading hours.

The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) is a Mini Ratna (Category-I) Central Public Sector Enterprise of the Government of India's Ministry of Railways. The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) was established on September 27, 1999, as an extension of the Indian Railways to improve, professionalise, and manage catering and hospitality services at stations, trains, and other locations, as well as to promote domestic and international tourism through the development of budget hotels, special tour packages, information and commercial publicity, and global reservation systems.

The company operates one of the most transacted websites, www.irctc.co.in, in the Asia-Pacific region It has also diversified into other businesses, including non-railway catering and services such as e-catering, executive lounges and budget hotels, which are in line with its objective to build a ‘one-stop solution’ for its customers.

The current holdings of promoters are standing at 67.40% and the market capitalization is Rs 55,824 crore. If we look at the 52-week performance of the company, shares touched their 52-week high at Rs 918.30 and the 52-week low was at Rs 557.00 whereas, after the fall by 5.30%, the market price at 11:15 AM was Rs 695.75.