Eois Invited For Stc Sale

The government Wednesday invited bids for the sale of its 65.02 per cent stake in the State Trading Corporation (STC) to a strategic partner, with transfer of management control.

Interested parties have been given time till March 18 to submit their expressions of interest (EoIs) to the government, which currently holds 91.02 per cent equity stake in STC.

Ernst & Young has been appointed as the global advisor for the disinvestment process.

STC is one of the country's largest trading companies, with a turnover of Rs 1,000 billion for the year ending March 31, 2001. The company has significant strength in the areas of agricultural commodities and other bulk products.

It also has two subsidiary companies, Tea Trading Corporation and Spices Trading Corporation.

"The government intends to sell off its 91 per cent stake in STC by the middle of 2002-03. Ernst & Young has been asked to complete the disinvestment process including the due diligence, bidding and evaluation process in a little over seven months, "official sources said.

As a prelude to the disinvestment, STC has already undergone capital restructuring under which, it has transferred Rs 40 crore from its reserves of around Rs 400 crore, to the government.

Sources indicated that real estate companies, as well as trading houses could be interested in picking up stake in the corporation. "The 23-storey headquarter of STC in New Delhi has been valued at over Rs 200 crore," they added.