3 EoIs for BPCL, says Dharmendra Pradhan; financial bids in February
The government has received ‘three preliminary bids’ for its controlling stake in India’s second-largest fuel retailer Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL), petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Wednesday. Department of investment and public asset management (Dipam) secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey told FE that short-listing of firms from the preliminary bids have been done after scrutiny by the transaction advisor. Financial bids are expected in February, he added.
The last date for submission of expression of interest (EoI) was November 16.
Vedanta, India arm of Anil Agarwal-controlled Vedanta group, is the only firm to have confirmed presence at the EoI stage of the BPCL sale process. PTI reported on Wednesday that two global funds, including Apollo Global Management, are “said to be” in the fray.
