BOMBAY, 20 July 2004 — India’s leading IT firm Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) said yesterday it would offer shares for its maiden public issue at a price band of Rs.775 to Rs.900 ($16.84 to $19.5), a spokesman told AFP.
“The price band (of the share offer) is between 775 to 900 rupees. We have filed today with the registrar of companies. The next procedure after this will be to hold road shows,” TCS spokesman Atul Takle said.
Stock market officials estimate the public offer by TCS, the leader in both IT exports and revenues, could easily raise more than $1 billion as investors would be keen to subscribe to the maiden issue.
Market players expect the public issue will rank only behind India’s biggest ever share offer, made by state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation in March this year by selling a 10 percent government stake in the firm.
TCS received clearance from the stock market regulator for the mammoth issue last Saturday, clearing the way for most of the procedural formalities.
TCS became the first Indian IT company to earn more than $1 billion in annual revenues last financial year which ended March 31.
Investors are awaiting the share offer, which will be one of the biggest on Indian stock exchanges. It is expected to come around the end of the month, according to market sources. They said the issue is likely to open on July 29 and close on Aug. 5. However, TCS officials did not confirm the date. The information technology company is entirely owned by India’s Tata group, one of India’s largest and most admired industrial groups.
Takle said about 11 percent of the Tata group’s holdings in the company, totaling around 55 million shares, will be offered to retail and other investors through the share offer.