Top 10 biz headlines: BPCL stake sale likely, Aug auto sales plunge & more

From the govt planning to offload its Rs 40,000-cr stake in BPCL to four- and two-wheeler sales falling by almost half in Aug from the equivalent month last year, here are today's top business stories

1) Govt may sell entire stake in BPCL worth Rs 40,000 cr, IOCL likely suitor

The Centre is planning to offload its entire stake worth a little more than Rs 40,000 crore in Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL), most likely to fellow state-owned oil-marketing company Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL), a deal that will go a long way in the Narendra Modi government meeting its highest-ever disinvestment target of Rs 1.05 trillion.

If it goes through, an IOCL-BPCL merger will be the third mammoth amalgamation of state-owned companies, excluding banks, in three years — after Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC)-Hindustan Petroleum