MUMBAI: The follow-on public offer (FPO) of NTPC, which closed today, was fully subscribed... bids were received for over 49.36 crore shares as against the offer for sale of over 41.22 crore shares.

The maximum bids (20.57 crore shares) have been made at Rs 209 per share followed by bids for nearly 17 crore shares at Rs 202 per share.

The QIB portion saw bids for 1.57 times shares on offer, which has enthused the management... the stock closed at Rs 204 on both the exchanges today.

R S Sharma, chairman, NTPC, said the government is likely to raise around Rs 8,500 crore via the divestment.

This is the first time that the government is using the French auction route to sell shares. The auction will follow the procedure of higher price and bid, higher allotment system...