The privatization of public sector petroleum company Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) has come to a halt. This has been claimed in the report of news agency PTI. Two bidders withdrew due to lack of clarity on fuel prices, leaving only one bidder in the race to acquire the company, the agency said, citing a top source.
The source, who did not wish to be identified, said, “We have only one bidder and it does not mean that one bidder imposes its own conditions. Therefore, the disinvestment process is on hold for the time being.” The government has not made any formal statement on the withdrawal of BPCL’s disinvestment process.
Apart from Anil Agarwal’s Vedanta Group and American venture fund Apollo Global Management Inc, I Squared Capital Advisors had shown interest in buying the government’s stake in BPCL. However, later both the global investors withdrew their bids.
How much is the stake: The government holds 52.98 per cent stake in BPCL. Earlier the government was planning to sell the entire stake. However, later there were reports that the government may change the stake sale plan. It was estimated that the government may sell 25-30 per cent stake. Now the government’s plan has suffered a setback due to the backing of the bidders.
Read this-424 employees laid off in Vedantu, CEO explains the reason for the decision
Why didn’t get more buyers: The second largest public sector oil refining and fuel marketing company in India could not find many buyers. The main reason for this was lack of clarity in domestic fuel pricing. Public sector fuel retailers sell petrol and diesel at below-cost prices. This puts the private sector retailers in a difficult situation. Either they sell fuel at a loss or the market loses.