Saudi Aramco and other global giants are lining up to bid for a stake in India’s state-controlled Bharat Petroleum (BPCL). According to reports, the government of India is looking to offload its 53.29 percent stake in the company.
The decision to divest the company was taken on September 30 last month.
The BPCL stake sale is expected to raise around Rs 60,000 crore. Besides Aramco, the companies which that are expected to take part in the BPCL stake sale are Rosneft, Kuwait Petroleum, ExxonMobil, Shell, Total and Adnoc.
The Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) is expected to hire an adviser by November. The valuation is also expected to be completed in the next 50 days.
The bidding process for the appointment of potential advisers is scheduled to open on November 4, 2019.
With regard to potential bidders, Vidyadhar Ginde, an analyst at ICICI Securities told the media, “Rosneft, which bought Essar Oil, and BP, which announced a 49 percent stake in oil marketing joint venture with RIL, is likely to bid. Kuwait Petroleum, Total, ExxonMobil, Shell and ADNOC may also bid for BPCL.”
This is not the first time the Indian government attempted to privatise BPCL. An earlier attempt was made in 2003; however, it was rejected by the Supreme Court.
Last week, local media reported that Aramco will announce its interest in BPCL during the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Saudi Arabia at the end of the month.
Recently, Aramco delayed the listing of its shares in the stock exchange, yet again. The IPO, which is expected to be the world’s biggest, is now expected to happen in December or January.