Shares of state-owned Central Bank of India fell over 7 per cent on Friday as the government launched its offer for sale (OFS) to divest 4 per cent stake in the lender at a discount to the previous close. The floor price for the Offer For Sale (OFS) of Central Bank of India, which also has a greenshoe option for selling an additional 4 per cent stake, was set at Rs 31 a share, which is 8.58 per cent lower than the stock’s Thursday closing price of Rs 33.91 on the BSE. The discount apparently weighed on investor sentiment and pressured the stock. As a result, the stock opened gap down with a loss of 5.01 per cent at Rs 32.21 compared to the previous close of Rs 33.91.
Amid a spurt in volume by more than 6.91 times, the stock fell further to touch the 52-week low of Rs 31.26, a dip of 7.81 per cent. The 52-week high of the stock is Rs 41.18, hit on June 2, 2026. The market cap of the company stood at Rs 28,303.73 crore.
Technically, the stock traded lower than the 5-day, 20-day, 50-day, 100-day and 200-day moving averages.
Central Bank of India OFS
By selling an 8 per cent stake in the PSU bank, the government will raise Rs 2,456 crore. The OFS will help the government inch towards meeting the Securities and Exchange Board of India’s minimum public shareholding norm.
According to SEBI, all listed companies must maintain a public shareholding of 25 per cent.
The government currently holds 89.27 per cent stake. If the government exercises the greenshoe option, its total stake in the state-owned bank will come down to 81.27 per cent.
In the 2025-26 fiscal, the government had raised Rs 2,624 crore through OFS of the Bank of Maharashtra and Rs 1,419 crore from Indian Overseas Bank.
