In another Public sector companies disinvestment drive, the government on Saturday invited bids to sell its entire 52.98 percent stake in India's second-biggest oil refiner Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL). The Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) issued a bid document in which expressions of interest for the strategic sale of BPCL were invited by May 2.
"The Government of India is proposing strategic disinvestment of its entire shareholding in BPCL comprising 114.91 crore equity shares, which constitutes 52.98 percent of BPCL's equity share capital, along with transfer of management control, to a strategic buyer (except BPCL's equity shareholding of 61.65 percent in Numaligarh Refinery Limited)," it said.
The government will follow a two-stage bidding process for selling its entire holding in BPCL. The qualified bidders in the first expression of interest (EoI) phase will be asked to make a financial bid in the second round.
However, the offer document says that the PSUs "are not eligible to participate" in the privatisation. Any private company having a net worth of USD 10 billion is eligible for bidding and consortium of no more than four firms will be allowed to bid, it said.
Earlier, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India LLP was appointed as its transaction advisor by the government to advise on and manage the strategic disinvestment process.
BPCL has a market capitalisation of about Rs 87,388 crore and the government stake at current prices is worth about Rs 46,000 crore. The government is selling its entire 53.29 percent stake in the company that will give buyers ready access to 14 percent of India's oil refining capacity and about one-fifth of the fuel market share in the world's fastest-growing energy market.
(With inputs from PTI)
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