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The West Bengal government has signed an agreement with the TCG group to hand over management control of Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd (HPL) to that company.
S Chatterjee, the TCG nominee on the HPL board, confirmed an agreement had been signed with the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation for transfer of its shares. He, however, refused to divulge the details.
It is likely TCG will buy the shares at Rs 25.1 a share.
Last year, the state government had sought expressions of interest to sell its 40 per cent stake in HPL. While Reliance and Essar had initially shown interest, Indian Oil Corporation emerged as the sole valid bidder, with a bid of Rs 25.10 a share. But the deal didn’t materialise due to a legal battle with TCG.
Saturday’s share purchase agreement marks an end to a long-standing dispute dating back to the term of the Left Front government in the state. In 2005, the government had agreed to exit the company by selling its shares to TCG, but valuation issues came in the way.
It remains to be seen whether lenders agree to infuse fresh capital in the HPL plant, currently shut for want of funds. Chatterjee didn’t give a time frame by when the plant would be operational.
