Hind Copper to file draft prospectus by July-end

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State-run Hindustan Copper Ltd will finalise by June-end the book-running lead managers for its follow-on public offer expected to hit the market in September or October, its chief said on Thursday.The company has received bids from nine banks including Bank of America-Merrill Lynch and UBS for the share sale, and is targeting to file the draft prospectus by July-end, Chairman and Managing Director Shakeel Ahmed told reporters.ICICI Securities, Kotak Mahindra Capital, SBI Capital Markets, IDBI Capital, Enam, Avendus Capital and IDFC-SSKI are the other banks that have submitted bids."We have received good response from merchant bankers. We hope to complete the selection by the end of the month," Ahmed said.Last week, India approved stake sales in state-run miners Coal India and Hindustan Copper that between them could be worth up to $3.7 billion, part of a broader divestment plan by the government to offload minority holdings in 60 state firms in coming years.Hindustan Copper's follow-on public offer would consist of 10 percent fresh equity and 10 percent divested by the government. It is expected to raise up to about 50 billion rupees ($1.08 billion) through the public issue.Shares in the company, valued by the market at $9.9 billion, closed 0.5 percent higher at 495.30 rupees in a Mumbai market that fell 0.14 percent on Thursday.The stock has run up nearly 80 percent so far in 2010, compared to a 1.5 percent increase in the main stock index.The initial public offer by Coal India, the world's largest coal miner, is also expected to hit the market by September. In June, India also gave its nod to sell a 10 percent stake in the company, which could raise roughly $2.7 billion.TO FUND EXPANSIONState-run Hindustan Copper, India's third largest copper producer behind Sterlite Industries and Hindalco, is planning to quadruple capacity to 12 million tonnes over the next 5-6 years, Ahmed said.The proceeds from the share sale will be used for funding expansion of mines in India and overseas.It has applied for 10 mining leases in the country, and is also eyeing overseas mining assets, Ahmed said. The company is in talks to buy mines in Namibia in Africa and Chile in South America."It is at a very preliminary stage ... We will be open to all forms of acquisition -- alone, joint venture or even buying strategic stake," Ahmed said.He declined to say what size these assets could be or how much cash Hindustan Copper had allocated for the acquisitions.($1=46.4 rupees)(Writing by Prashant Mehra; Editing by Unnikrishnan Nair)

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