A group of secretaries on Monday cleared disinvestment in five companies, according to sources. They are believed to have approved entire stake sale in BPCL and Shipping Corporation, while NEEPCO and THDC will be acquired by other public sector units (PSUs). CNBC-TV18 had reported the news on September 25.

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North Block sources indicate that NTPC will acquire THDC while NHPC will acquire NEEPCO.

It has also been proposed to divest 30 percent government equity in CONCOR with management control on NITI Aayog’s suggestion.

The next step for the Government is to get cabinet approvals for each of the strategic stake sales.

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It’s noteworthy that the Government holds 53.29 percent equity in BPCL, 54.79 percent in Container Corporation, 63.75 percent in Shipping Corporation. The Centre’s shareholding is 75 percent in THDC while 25 percent is with the Uttarakhand government. NEEPCO is 100 percent government-owned.

Post the cabinet nod, the government will start the valuation exercise for each of the companies, appoint consultants and merchant bankers and also invite bids for the strategic stake sales of BPCL, Container Corporation, Shipping Corporation, while NTPC and NHPC will be involved in the process of merging THDC and NEEPCO respectively with their own businesses, along with of course, the critical task of valuation of the unlisted companies.

The final nod for each of the stake sales will come from the Finance Minister Sitharaman headed Alternate Mechanism or the group of Ministers on disinvestment which will approve the bid price and the actual transaction.

First Published:Sept 30, 2019 8:37 PM IST