Pawan Hans disinvestment: Centre to put 100% stake up for sale

The government will soon invite fresh bids for 100% stake sale in Pawan Hans by issuing an addendum to the disinvestment document as Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) is ready to sell its entire stake in the company, an official said.

Helicopter services provider Pawan Hans is a joint venture between the government, which holds 51% stake, and state-owned ONGC, which owns the remaining 49% shareholding. Pawan Hans has a fleet of 46 choppers.

On April 13, the government had issued the information memorandum for the 51% strategic stake sale in Pawan Hans and had sought Expression of Interest (EoI) from interested bidders by June 18. About half a dozen bidders are believed to have submitted bids.

On July 2, ONGC wrote to the government that its Board has resolved it would prefer to exit Pawan Hans simultaneously.

Against this backdrop, the senior government official said an addendum to the existing document would be issued soon, seeking bids for 100% stake in Pawan Hans.

“An addendum would be issued to the EoI (Expression of Interest) document issued on April 13. The addendum would state that ONGC has expressed its interest in selling its 49% holding and fresh bids can be put in for the entire 100% stake,” the official said.

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According to the official, the existing bids for the government’s 51% stake would stay. “We want to give other investors a chance in case they want to bid for entire 100% stake,” the official added. SBI Capital Markets is the transaction advisor for stake sale.