BPCL Privatisation News Today: Money! Special dividend to shareholders? Check latest stake sale update

BPCL Privatisation, Stake Sale Latest News: In a major development, BPCL director (finance) N Vijayagopal on Tuesday confirmed that privatisation-bound Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) may use Rs 9,876 crore proceed from stake sale in Numaligarh Refinery to pay a special dividend to shareholders, the biggest being Government of India.

The Board of BPCL on Monday approved the sale of the company's 61.65 per cent stake in Numaligarh Refinery Ltd (NRL) to a consortium of state-owned Oil India, consultancy firm Engineers India Ltd (EIL) and Government of Assam for Rs 9,875.96 crore.

"The offer by the OIL-led consortium was above the reserve price we had set for the stake sale," BPCL director (finance) N Vijayagopal  told reporters, as per a report in PTI. BPCL will seek approval of the shareholders at a meeting on March 25 and plans to sign the sale pact within two days of that and conclude the transaction before month-end, he added.The proceeds from the stake sale will be used to buy out Oman Oil's stake in Bina refinery, pay capital gains tax and pay a dividend to shareholders, he said. "Definitely a portion (of the proceeds) will go to the shareholders as dividend as we have a healthy tradition of rewarding shareholders."

Before the government sells its entire stake in BPCL, the company is exiting NRL and buying out a 36.62 per cent stake held by OQ S.A.0.C. (formerly known as Oman Oil Company S.A.O.C.) in Bina refinery for Rs 2,399.26 crore.

"We are very happy with the price that we got from OIL-led consortium," he said.

The government holds 52.98 per cent stake in BPCL and will be the biggest beneficiary of any such special dividend payout.

BPCL, he said, may also use a part of the proceeds to retire some high-interest bearing borrowings even though the debt was at a comfortable level of around Rs 25,000 crore now.

The stake sale in NRL clears the way for privatisation of India's second-largest fuel retailer.