Government will sell 3.5% stake in Hindustan Aeronautics Limited

The government of India is going to sell a stake of up to 3.5% (11,703,563 shares) in aerospace and defence company Hindustan Aeronautics Limited through Offer for Sale (OFS). The floor price for this has been fixed at Rs 2,450. This price is 6.6% less than the current market price. HAL shares fell Rs 30.55 to close at Rs 2,625 on Wednesday.
The government will get Rs 2867 crore from the sale of stakes on this basis. According to a regulatory filing, the offer for sale will open for non-retail investors on March 23 and for retail investors on March 24. The government currently holds a 75.15% stake in the company, which was listed in March 2018.
The disinvestment of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited started in the year 2018. This year HAL released its IPO. After this, the Government of India's stake in HAL was reduced from 100% to 89.97%. The government got about Rs 4,229 crore from this.
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is an aerospace and defence company. Its headquarter is in Bangalore. This company is one of the world's oldest and largest aerospace and defence manufacturers. Two-thirds of the workhorse aircraft of the Indian Air Force belongs to HAL. The Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas is also manufactured by this company.
On 23 December 1940, Seth Walchand Hirachand started a company named Hindustan Aircraft Limited with the help of William Douglas Pawley, an American aviation expert. In March 1941, during the Second World War, the government bought one-third of the company's stake, and after independence, Hindustan Aircraft Limited was taken under the administrative control of the Ministry of Defense in January 1951.
Hindustan Aircraft Limited was merged with Aeronautics India Limited in October 1964 to form Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). Apart from India, HAL also provides its services to 23 countries. It also includes the names of companies like Airbus and Boeing. With an experience of more than 50 years, HAL is currently manufacturing military helicopters and aircraft.