The West Bengal government on Thursday declared that Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) was the sole and valid bidder for the governments stake in Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd (HPL).
The state government has a 31 per cent share in the company,which till date has an accumulated loss of Rs 3,200 crore and a debt of Rs 4,000 crore. The government placed its stake for sale to exit the loss making company as well as to raise funds.
The sale,however,can come into effect if only Purnendu Chatterjee,the co-promoter of the company with ownership of 41 per cent does not match IOCs price bid. Chatterjee has the first right of refusal.
The decision was taken by a group of ministers comprising the states commerce minister Partha Chatterjee,finance minister Amit Mitra,power minister Manish Gupta and panchayats minister Subrata Mukherjee. IOC was the sole and valid bidder so we took the decision, Chatterjee said after the meeting.
Must Watch
For all the latest News Archive News, download Indian Express App
