(PTI)
The government has tweaked the terms of sale of its 51.11% stake in HPCL to ONGC by including phrases that will help avoid triggering an open offer, an official said. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) had on July 19 granted ‘in-principle’ approval for strategic sale of the government’s existing 51.11 per cent stake in Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) to Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) “along with the transfer of management control, which will result in HPCL becoming a subsidiary company of ONGC”.
The Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) had on July 21 used the same formulation to invite expression of interest from investment and merchant bankers to manage the transaction. But, since the offer meant transfer of management control from government to ONGC, there was apprehension it would trigger Sebi’s takeover code and compel ONGC to make an open offer to acquire an additional 26% stake from the minority shareholders, he said.
