OREANDA-NEWS. February 18, 2011. The government has kicked off a roadshow to sell 5% stake in explorer Oil & Natural Gas Corp to meet its fundraising target from stake sales. The divestment process has been facing pressure over the past two months due to the market slide. If the sale goes through, the government could raise 12,000 crore at current prices, more than a fourth of its overall target of 40,000 crore for the fiscal that’s coming to an end on March 31.

Its stake in the company may fall to 69.14% from 74.14%. Fund managers from DSP Blackrock, Franklin Templeton, Morgan Stanley, Life Insurance Corp, State Bank of India, IDBI Bank, UTI Mutual Fund and Reliance Life Insurance were present at the meeting in Mumbai where the department of disinvestment officials detailed the company’s prospects, said people familiar with the event.

The team, comprising officials from the oil company and the government, will meet investors in other Asian financial centres such as Hong Kong and Singapore next week, the person said. ONGC’s spokesman could not be reached for comment. Public sector share sale turned difficult after the benchmark Sensex fell more than 16% since its recent peak in November due to worries over inflation and rising interest rates. The indices have since recovered, but many issues such as oil subsidy and the company’s tussle over Cairn UK’s stake sale to Vedanta Resources in its Indian unit, dimmed ONGC’s outlook.

The government has raised 22,763 crore through sale of shares in hydro-power generator SJVN, consultants Engineers India, miners Coal India and MOIL, Power Grid Corp, and Shipping Corp. Petroleum Minister Jaipal Reddy had said the subsidy could rise to 1 lakh crore from the forecast 75,000 crore as the oil Brent crude prices crossed USD 100 a barrel due to civil strife in the Middle East.

“The response from the funds was very good,” said the person. Among the funds present at the meeting, state-run firm Life Insurance owns 3.1% of the company, and UTI Asset Management has 0.23%, filings show. Blackrock holds 0.05% and Templeton 0.1%. Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Nomura Holdings, HSBC Holdings, JM Financial Services, Citigroup and Morgan Stanley are the sale arrangers at a 1 fee for the assignment. The company’s board will meet on February 25 to finalise the offer document. The roadshow will conclude early next week in Hong Kong and Singapore.