Winning bid for HPL stake by Sept 30

After final bidder is selected, TCG will be given one month's time to match price offered by higher bidder

Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd (HPL) chairman and West Bengal industries minister Partha Chatterjee on Wednesday said the state would select the final bidder for selling its stake of about 40 per cent in HPL by September 30.

An empowered group of ministers on HPL on Wednesday held a meeting with HPL stake sale consultant Deloitte India members.

Purnendu Chatterjee-led The Chatterjee Group (TCG), a key promoter in HPL, has the right of first refusal over the shares put up for sale. After the final bidder is selected, TCG would be given a month to match the price offered by the highest bidder.

After Essar Oil exited the race to acquire the state government’s stake in HPL, five companies—Reliance Industries Ltd, Cairn India, Indian Oil Corporation, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and GAIL are in the fray. The final price bids are expected to be submitted by August 31.

Asked if IOC and ONGC would be allowed to bid through a joint consortium, Chatterjee said, “Deloitte is the consultant, and it would take a call on this soon.” After the due diligence process, IOC and ONGC had written to the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation, requesting for a joint bid. Earlier, Mukesh Ambani-led RIL had requested for an open auction, but the government chose to stick to closed bidding.

According to a senior official close to the development, a decision on the matter would be taken in a week.

“Though there are legal issues, the state government has assured these companies to wind up the process at the earliest. They have already completed the due diligence process,” he added.

A recent Supreme Court order had paved the way for the government’s stake sale process. Earlier, TCG had filed a special leave petition in the apex court, challenging the Calcutta High Court’s verdict barring it from approaching the International Court of Arbitration in France. Last week, the court had refused a stay on the stake sale order.