Govt to sell up to 6% stake in Hindustan Copper via OFS; floor price at 10% discount

The Union government will sell 3% equity in Hindustan Copper Ltd through an offer for sale, with an option to sell another 3% in case of oversubscription. The OFS will open at a floor price of Rs 514 per share. This is about 10% discount to the last closed price of Rs 573.55.

The OFS will open first for non-retail investors on Tuesday, August 25, 2026. Bidding for this category will start at 9:15 am and close at 3:30 pm on the same day. Allocation for regular bids is expected to be confirmed around 7 pm on August 25 through contract notes. Retail investors will be able to bid on Wednesday, August 26.

Settlement and credit of shares for all successful bids are expected on or around Thursday, August 27, 2026. This includes bids by non-retail and institutional investors with 100% upfront margin, institutional investors with zero upfront margin, carry-forward bids, and retail investor bids. Allocation for carry-forward bids is expected to be confirmed around 7 pm on August 26 through contract notes.

The issue includes a 10% reservation for retail investors, while 25,000 shares have been reserved for eligible employees.

The transaction is part of the government’s disinvestment programme and will help increase public shareholding in the state-run copper miner. Hindustan Copper is under the Ministry of Mines and is India’s only vertically integrated copper producer.

The base offer will allow the government to divest 3% equity. If demand is strong, the government can use the green shoe option and sell an additional 3%, taking the total stake sale to 6%.
An offer for sale allows promoters of a listed company to sell shares through the stock exchange platform. In this case, the promoter is the Government of India. Retail investors can bid under the reserved portion, while institutional and non-retail investors will take part under the broader OFS framework.The OFS comes after a strong June quarter for Hindustan Copper. The company reported profit before tax of Rs 472 crore for the quarter ended June 2026, up around 163% from the same period last year. Profit after tax stood at Rs 353 crore, also up around 163%. Revenue from operations rose 81% to Rs 936 crore from Rs 516 crore a year earlier.

The company has also been working on mine expansion. Hindustan Copper said it has intensified monitoring of expansion projects and is targeting ore production capacity of 12.2 million tonnes per annum by 2030. It is also making progress on reopening closed mines in Jharkhand, acquiring new mines in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, and pursuing mine exploration in Chile.

Copper demand has become a key long-term theme because of electric vehicles, renewable energy, power infrastructure and data centres. The transition towards renewable energy and electric mobility, along with AI-led infrastructure and decarbonisation policies, is expected to support copper demand in the coming years.

Hindustan Copper shares will also be in focus as the OFS opens, with investors tracking the discount to the market price, institutional demand and retail participation.