Oil and Natural Gas Corporation on Wednesday filed with Securities and Exchange Board of India the draft prospectus for the public issue of the government's 10 per cent stake.

The 14.2 crore equity shares will be offered in lots of 10 with a view to attract retail investors, for whom 25 per cent of the offer size has been reserved.

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Of the 142,593,399 equity shares being offered through the book-building route, 10 per cent have been reserved for the employees of the company and its subsidiary firms like Mangalore Refinery and ONGC Videsh while 25 per cent shares will be allotted to the retail investors, highly placed company sources said in New Delhi.

About 45 per cent of the shares on offer have been reserved for Qualified Institutional Buyers while the remaining will be for non-institutional buyers.

ONGC public issue will hit the market on March 2 and remain open for bidding in a price band, that will be decided a day before the issue opens, till March 10.

After the draft red herring propectus is approved by Sebi, the offer document will be filed with the Registrar of Companies by February 10 and roadshows to attract foreign and domestic investors are planned from February 22.