Indian Railway Finance Corporation's (IRFC) offer for sale concluded on Thursday with the government successfully raising ₹2,100 crore through strong investor demand. As reported by Business Standard, 22.88 crore shares were sold to minority shareholders over the two-day offering, with the retail portion receiving a 41.39% subscription while the non-retail segment was oversubscribed 1.86 times. DIPAM Secretary Arunish Chawla confirmed the successful conclusion, stating that "Combined with the institutional investors, 22.88 crore shares were sold to the minority shareholders over the two trading days for an estimated amount of ₹2,084 crore. We thank all investors for their participation and for reposing their faith in us." The government exercised the greenshoe option after strong institutional and retail response, with the total offer size revised to 24.31 crore equity shares (1.86% equity) from the base offer of 13.07 crore shares (1% equity).
IRFC shares fell 0.8% to close at ₹91.78 on the BSE on Thursday, despite the discounted floor price of ₹91 per share. According to Business Standard, the floor price was set at a discount of 7.8% over Tuesday's closing price of IRFC shares on the BSE. The retail portion received bids for 1,00,61,078 shares, translating into a 41.39% subscription of the revised retail offer comprising 2.43 crore shares. All retail bids were backed by 100% margin, with the indicative price for the non-retail segment standing at ₹91.10 per share. The government held an 84.65% stake in IRFC at the end of the March quarter before the OFS.
Non-retail investors fully subscribed to the IRFC OFS, receiving bids for 21.87 crore shares on 24 June 2026, resulting in full subscription of the revised non-retail allocation. As reported by Business Standard, of these bids, 7.55 crore shares were backed by 100% margin, while 14.32 crore shares were placed without margin. The OFS also reserved up to 25,000 shares for eligible employees, who could apply for shares worth up to ₹5 lakh. IRFC shares witnessed significant trading activity during the OFS launch period, with NSE volume reaching 5,48,50,410 shares and BSE volume at 38,35,712 shares. The government announced the OFS on June 23, initially offering a 1% stake in IRFC, with an additional 1% available through a greenshoe option.
The IRFC stake sale is part of the government's ₹80,000 crore disinvestment target for FY27, following recent successful OFSs in Coal India, Central Bank of India, NLC India, NHPC and General Insurance Corporation of India. As reported by Business Standard, since May, the Centre has mobilised more than ₹16,480 crore through OFSs in companies such as Coal India (₹5,542 crore), NHPC (₹4,357 crore), GIC (₹3,090 crore), Central Bank of India (₹2,266 crore), and NLC India (₹1,223 crore). Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had earlier indicated that divestment of central public sector enterprises would remain a key focus area, suggesting more stake sales could follow in the months ahead. Sources have indicated that an OFS in Cochin Shipyard is also under consideration.
IRFC is a Navratna Central Public Sector Enterprise under the Ministry of Railways and the dedicated market borrowing arm of Indian Railways, providing financing support for railway expansion, modernization and strategic infrastructure development. On a standalone basis, IRFC's net profit rose 0.15% to ₹1,684.31 crore while net sales rose 9.18% to ₹7,336.05 crore in Q4 March 2026 over Q4 March 2025, as reported by Business Standard. IRFC serves as the dedicated financing arm of Indian Railways and plays a key role in funding railway infrastructure projects and rolling stock acquisitions, making it a critical component of India's railway modernization efforts.
