Hindustan Zinc shares fall after Vedanta announces ₹4,500 crore OFS — All you need to know

Shares of Hindustan Zinc Ltd., which have rallied as much as 60% in the last two months, fell over 2% in early trading on Wednesday, January 28, after its parent company, Vedanta Ltd., approved offloading some shares through an Offer For Sale (OFS) process.

Vedanta plans to sell up to 1.59% of its overall holdings in Hindustan Zinc through this OFS.

Vedanta plans to sell up to 3.35 crore shares or 0.79% of the total equity as per the base offer, and another 3.35 crore equity shares through a Greenshoe option, taking the total OFS size to 1.6%.

The OFS will open for non-retail investors on Wednesday, January 28, 2026, and for retail investors on Thursday, January 29, 2026.

At the end of the December quarter, Vedanta had a 61.8% stake in Hindustan Zinc.

Hindustan Zinc: Less Free Float

Even as Hindustan Zinc shares have rallied towards their record high levels, not many retail investors have benefitted from this, as the stock has very little free float in the market.

Apart from Vedanta Ltd.'s 61.84% stake, the Government of India has a 27.92% stake, while Mutual Funds and FPIs have a 1.07% and 1.54% stake respectively as of December 31. Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), through its ULIP Growth Fund, has a 3.31% stake in Hindustan Zinc. Only 7.7 lakh small retail investors, or those with authorized share capital of up to ₹2 lakh, have a 2.96% stake in Hindustan Zinc.

Holder	HZL Shareholding (%)
Vedanta Ltd.	61.84
Government of India	27.92
LIC ULIP Growth Fund	3.31
Mutual Funds	1.07
FPIs	1.54
Retail	2.96

The OFS would also increase the supply in shares of Hindustan Zinc in the market, thereby increasing its free float.

Hindustan Zinc is currently the most valued metal company in India, courtesy of the recent rally, which has corresponded with the sharp upmove seen in Silver prices in the global markets. As of Tuesday's closing, Hindustan Zinc had a market capitalisation of ₹3.07 lakh crore. Vedanta's 61.8% stake at the current market price is valued at ₹1.9 lakh crore.

Shares of Hindustan Zinc ended 4% higher on Tuesday at ₹726.5. The stock is already up 19% in the month of January itself, marking the best start to a calendar year for the stock since 2017.