OFS — Offer for Sale

An OFS (Offer for Sale) is an exchange-run mechanism through which promoters or other large shareholders of a listed company sell shares they already own to institutional and retail bidders — no new shares are created.

The OFS window was introduced largely to help promoters comply with SEBI's minimum public shareholding requirement (at least 25% of a listed company held by the public). It is a transparent auction on the exchange: the seller announces a floor price, bids come in during the offer day(s), and allocations happen at or above the floor, typically with a portion reserved for retail bidders.

The critical difference from a QIP or rights issue is that an OFS raises money for the selling shareholder, not the company. The share count does not change, so there is no dilution — but the promoter's stake falls, and the market reads the seller's identity and motive closely.

OFS events are announced through exchange filings, usually a day before the issue opens, and the floor price — often set at a discount to the market price — anchors near-term trading.

How stocks tend to react

Stocks commonly trade down toward the OFS floor price when one is announced, since the floor is usually below the market price and supply is incoming. The medium-term read depends on why the promoter is selling — regulatory compliance is routine, while aggressive stake reduction attracts scrutiny.

MarketPing measures this instead of guessing: every analysed announcement carries the stock's actual price reaction across 14 horizons, and the Reaction Lab aggregates how each category of announcement has historically moved stocks.

Related terms

Educational content, not investment advice. Regulations and tax rules change — verify current rules before acting.