The government has approved Star9 Mobility Pvt Ltd's highest bid for the sale of the government of India's 51 percent stake in Pawan Hans Ltd (PHL). The transaction now moves to the concluding stage. PHL provides helicopter and air mobility services and is a 51:49 joint venture between the government and ONGC.

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ONGC has previously decided to sell its whole stake in the company to the winning bidder in the Government of India's strategic disinvestment transaction at the same price and terms as the government.

The DIPAM secretary said in a statement, "The Alternative Mechanism, empowered by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, comprising Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nirmala Sitharaman, Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs and Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, Union Minister of Civil Aviation, has approved the highest bid of M/s Star9 Mobility Private Ltd for the sale of entire GoI’s shareholding (51% of shareholding) of Pawan Hans Ltd (PHL) and transfer of management control."

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This was the fourth iteration, with an Expression of Interest (EoI) deadline of December 8, 2020. Seven expressions of interest were received, and four qualifying bids were shortlisted. Qualified bidders were requested to submit financial bids after thorough due diligence. There were three financial bids received.

According to the procedure, the reserve price for the sale of PHL's 51 percent equity was set at Rs 199.92 crore, based on expert valuation (transaction adviser and asset valuer). Following that, the three bids were opened in the presence of the bidders.

The validity of all three bids was established. Star9 Mobility Private Ltd, a consortium comprised of Big Charter Private Ltd, Maharaja Aviation Private Ltd, and Almas Global Opportunity Fund SPC, was the highest bidder, offering Rs 211.14 crore, which was higher than the Reserve Price. The two other offers were for Rs 181.05 crore and Rs 153.15 crore, respectively. The Government has accepted Star9 Mobility Private Ltd's financial bid after careful deliberation.

The next steps are issuing the Letter of Award, signing the Share Purchase Agreement and closing the transaction. The strategic buyer is expected to rejuvenate the company by replacing the ageing fleet with new capital and improving the company's performance as a result of the privatisation.

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(Edited by : Anand Singha)