Stake sale of Haldia Petrochem likely to be delayed further

27-Aug-13

The stake sale of Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd (HPL) is likely to be delayed further with bidders raising the concern over the share purchase agreement prepared by West Bengal government and its transaction advisor Deloitte India, as per Business Standard. At present, Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), Cairn India, IOC, GAIL and ONGC are in the hunt for state government’s about 40% stake in HPL. A meeting is scheduled shortly between the West Bengal government and the five bidders to sort the issues. This will make it t is almost impossible for bidders to submit final price bid by August 31. After the pre-bid meeting with five bidders state government in consultation with Deloitte India is expected to circulate the final draft agreement among the suitors. Among the concerns raised by the bidders on share purchase agreement is the fact that the suitors want to pay bid, when successful, in tranches rather than giving the full amount at once. However, the HPL official ruled out the claim by bidders that the agreement prepared by the government did not mention about TCG’s right of first refusal over the stake put on sale. “This was mentioned clearly in every stage of documentation clearly so this is something which would not be entertained by the government. Bidders raised concerns over the legal disputes and during a meeting last week government has assured them that it will take care of the matter and would try to make the stake sale a smooth process,” the official added.