The government has received three financial bids for its stake in ailing helicopter operator Pawan Hans and is likely to complete the divestment of the public sector enterprise in a couple of months, people familiar with the developments told Moneycontrol.
The privatisation of Pawan Hans is likely to fetch Rs 300-350 crore, the people said.
This is the government’s fifth attempt to privatise the company, which has a fleet of over 40 helicopters and almost 900 employees, including 450 who are on the permanent rolls.
“We are working with the transaction advisor and are in the final stages of completing the divestment process of Pawan Hans and will look to complete the process in the next couple of months,” a senior government official said. The official declined to identify the bidders.
The Employees’ Union of Pawan Hans, Global Vectra Helicorp and Heligo Charters were widely expected to bid for the company. None of the potential buyers confirmed to Moneycontrol if they had submitted financial bids.
The Central government plans to sell its 51 percent stake in Pawan Hans as part of its drive to divest its stake in lossmaking public sector enterprises. Oil and Natural Gas Corp. was to offer the 49 percent stake that it held in the helicopter operator and transfer management control of the PSU to a private operator.
SBI Capital Markets is the transaction advisor for the divestment.
The Central government and ONGC will also indemnify potential buyers from contingent liabilities to the extent of over Rs 500 crore, the officials said.
The government invited bids for the PSU in December 2020 and extended the deadline to February 18, 2021. However, the divestment process was halted due to the outbreak of the second wave of Covid-19 in India.
Pawan Hans is expected to report a net loss of Rs 100 crore in both 2020-21 and 2021-22 after reporting a loss of Rs 28.08 crore in 2019-20 and Rs 69.2 crore in 2018-19.
The state-run helicopter operator had also reported a fall in revenue to Rs 346 crore in FY20 from Rs 381 crore in FY19, according to the information memorandum document floated by the government to invite expressions of interest to invest in the company in 2020.
“Pawan Hans has the largest fleet of helicopters in India and with the government recently coming out with a new helicopter policy, the market in India is expected to grow exponentially in the next few years,” a senior industry expert told Moneycontrol.
He added that the government is working towards creating dedicated hubs and corridors to operate helicopters, making the Pawan Hans fleet more attractive.
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