New Delhi, June 25 (IANS) The government has raised more than Rs 25,000 crore so far this year through stake sales in public sector undertakings (PSUs) via the Offer for Sale (OFS) route, which is highest such fundraising exercise in over a decade, according to market data.

The data — compiled by Prime Database — showed that the Centre mobilised around Rs 25,491 crore by diluting stakes in eight listed PSUs during 2026, the highest amount raised through PSU OFS issues since 2015, when about Rs 35,291 crore was garnered through stake sales in five listed companies.

Including private sector issuances, a total of 24 listed companies have raised around Rs 29,445 crore through the OFS route so far this year.

The figure is already close to the Rs 30,178 crore raised by 28 companies in 2024 and not far from the all-time high of Rs 35,566 crore mobilised by 19 firms in 2015.

Among state-run companies, stake sales have been undertaken in Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL), Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC), Central Bank of India, Coal India, NHPC, NLC India and General Insurance Corporation of India, others.

While in the private sector, they have also tapped the OFS market.

According to analysts, PSU stocks have generally delivered a muted performance following their OFS launches despite bouts of volatility in domestic equities triggered by foreign institutional investor outflows, geopolitical uncertainties and fluctuations in crude oil prices.

They further noted that the funds raised through early-year stake sales could help meet higher expenditure requirements related to food, fertiliser and cooking gas subsidies.

Meanwhile, BHEL has emerged as the strongest performer among the recently divested PSU stocks, trading about 62 per cent above its OFS floor price.

In comparison, IRFC remains around 3 per cent below its February OFS floor price, while Central Bank of India has gained about 6 per cent since its May issue.

Coal India and NHPC have risen roughly 9 per cent from their respective OFS floor prices, while NLC India and General Insurance Corporation of India have posted gains of around 1 per cent and 4 per cent, respectively.

–IANS

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