Pawan Hans sale: Govt receives financial bids

With this thee divestment process has move to the last stage.

The government is selling its entire 51 per cent stake in Pawan Hans. State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, which holds the remaining 49 per cent, has also offered its entire shareholding in the company for sale along with the government stake.

The attempted to sell the sick enterprise twice before - in 2018 and 2019, but failed to attract buyers.

In the fresh proposal, the terms of sale have been relaxed. The government has now reduced the minimum net worth for potential bidders and the lock-in period of investment and allowing the successful bidder to sell assets after a year, PTI reported.

Also, a change in shareholding among consortium partners was permitted, provided the lead investor holds a minimum of 26 percent stake and other members hold at least 10 percent each, it added.

For 2019-20, the company reported a net loss of Rs 28 crore, lower than Rs 69 crore in the previous year, according to a PTI report.

As on March 31, 2020, its authorised capital stood at Rs 560 crore and paid-up share capital at Rs 557 crore.

The disinvestment is part of the Rs 1.75 lakh crore revenue mobilisation target set by the government for the 2021-22 (April 2021 to March 2022) fiscal year.

So far, the government has garnered Rs 9,330 crore from minority stake sales.