Sept. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Power Grid Corp., India's biggest power transmission company, raised 29.8 billion rupees ($737 million), the maximum sought in an initial share sale, tapping demand for electricity utilities.

Power Grid sold 573.9 million shares at 52 rupees apiece, the upper end of the range offered to investors, the New Delhi- based the company said in an e-mailed statement. The sale, which closed yesterday, garnered bids for 65 times the shares on offer.

Asia's fourth-largest economy plans to increase generation capacity by 60 percent and transmission capability threefold in the next five years to end blackouts. Power Finance Corp., a lender to electricity utilities, attracted demand for more than 77 times the shares on sale and surged 38 percent on its trading debut in February.

The government's holding in Power Grid will fall to 86.4 percent after the sale.

Enam Financial Consultants Pvt., Citigroup Global Markets India Pvt. and Kotak Mahindra Capital Co. managed the sale.

To contact the reporter on this story: Manash Goswami in New Delhi at mgoswami@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: September 14, 2007 10:45 EDT