Despite the Supreme Court verdict halting divestment in two public sector oil companies -- Hindustan Petroleum Corporation and Bharat Petroleum Corporation -- the government has decided to go ahead with the privatisation of Hindustan Copper Ltd, setting aside concerns over the fate of units, which were partially nationalised.
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The ministry is reported to have cited the Balco judgement to buttress its claims.
It may be recalled that the government had nationalised the Indian Copper complex at Ghatshila in 1972.
Legal experts say since the unit was directly acquired by the government and then transferred to HCL, the process of divestment could proceed.
The divestment ministry, which had called for financial bids last month, was placed in an awkward position following the apex court ruling with concerns raised over the future of the process owing to uncertainty over the company's Jharkand operations.
The verdict had raised questions over the route to be followed in case of nationalised units and had asked the government to obtain legislative approval for divesting stakes in the two oil PSUs created by acts of Parliament.
Financial bids for the company would close towards the middle of October.
Sources said that HCL had been created through the Company's Act and not the Parliamentary route.
Only two bidders, Sterlite Industries and Birla Copper, remain in the fray for majority stake in the company.
The government would divest its entire equity of 98 per cent in the company in favour of a strategic buyer along with management control.
A F Ferguson have been mandated to act as global advisors for the deal.
The Kolkata based copper major had been incurring losses for the last couple of years following a slump in copper prices. It registered a loss of Rs 149 crore (Rs 1.49 billion) last fiscal.
An attempt to privatise the company had to be aborted last year following a lukewarm response from bidders, which led to the government announcing a financial restructuring package.
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