Cochin Shipyard shares dip 2% as govt’s OFS opens for retail investors today

Shares of state-owned Cochin Shipyard declined 2% to their day's high of Rs 1,418 on the BSE on Wednesday as the Centre's Offer for Sale (OFS) opens for retail investors, following strong demand in the non-retail portion on Tuesday.The government is looking to divest up to a 5.04% stake in the state-run shipbuilder through the OFS.

The sale involves more than 1.32 crore shares.

As of the March 2026 quarter, the Centre held a 67.91% stake in Cochin Shipyard, while retail investors owned 19.66% and high-net-worth individuals held 0.73%.The non-retail portion of the OFS was subscribed 3.52x on Tuesday, prompting the government to exercise the entire greenshoe option to sell an additional 2.52% stake in the company.

The Centre had initially offered to sell a 2.52% stake, equivalent to 66.29 lakh shares.Also read:Cochin Shipyard OFS gets 3.5x bids; govt exercises greenshoeThe indicative bid price stood at Rs 1,401.85 per share, compared with the floor price of Rs 1,400.

At the floor price, the sale of the full 5.04% stake is expected to fetch around Rs 1,800 crore for the government.The OFS is part of the Centre's ongoing disinvestment programme.

Since May 21, the government has raised more than Rs 20,000 crore through a series of OFSs.

In June, it conducted stake sales in companies including Coal India, NLC India, NHPC, IRFC, GIC**,** and others.The government has exercised the greenshoe option in every OFS it has launched so far this year.How to apply?Retail investors can submit bids through the OFS section available on their trading platform or broker's application.

Before placing bids, investors should check details such as the floor price and bid quantity.

The bid price must be equal to or higher than the floor price of Rs 1,400 per share.Investors also need to maintain sufficient funds in their trading accounts, as the bid amount will remain blocked until the allotment process is completed.

Shares will be credited to the Demat account of successful applicants on the settlement date, while unsuccessful bidders will have the blocked amount released.Shipyard shareholding patternThe government owned nearly a 68% stake in Cochin Shipyard as of March 31, 2026, according to the company's shareholding pattern filed with the NSE.

Meanwhile, around 9.62 lakh retail shareholders held approximately a 20% stake in the company.Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) owned more than a 3% stake, while 24 mutual funds owned slightly more than a 2% stake in the company.

Foreign investors, meanwhile, held around a 3% stake in the company's total equity.Cochin Shipyard share priceCochin Shipyard is one of India's leading public sector shipbuilding and ship repair companies.

The company's shares have delivered over 400% returns in the past three years and nearly 700% returns in the past five years.Recently, the stock has come under pressure.

The PSU's shares have dropped more than 29% over the past year and over 12% in 2026 so far.

The company has a market capitalisation of nearly Rs 38,000 crore.(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own.

These do not represent the views of The Economic Times) ...