The Central government on Sunday said that it has invited expressions of interest (EoI) for the strategic sale of 26 per cent stake in Bharat Earth-Movers Ltd (BEML).
Shares of BEML surged nearly 8 per cent on Monday after the government’s announced of stake sale. Its shares opened 7.7 per cent higher to touch an intraday high of Rs 1,050 points. They have, however, pared gains and around 11 a.m. the shares were trading at Rs 1,007.00, higher by Rs 32.75 or 3.36 per cent from its previous close.
The government currently holds 54.03 per cent stake in BEML, which is a 'Miniratna' Category-1 Public Sector Undertaking, under the administrative control of Ministry of Defence.
The Twitter handle of the Secretary, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management tweeted saying, "Govt has issued the PIM/EOI for disinvestment of 26 per cent equity share capital of BEML Ltd along with transfer of management control. Disinvestment will be through a two-stage competitive bidding process," the tweet read.
Incorporated on May 11, 1964, BEML operates under three major business verticals -- mining and construction, defence, and rail and Metro.
The Centre appointed SBI Capital Markets Ltd (SBICAP) as its transaction advisor to advise and manage the strategic disinvestment process, BEML said in a regulatory filing.
According to the filing the disinvestment process is to be implemented through open competitive bidding route. And the interested bidders who meet the requirements as per the preliminary information memorandum may submit their EOIs on or before 5 p.m. of March 1, 2021.
Companies, LLPs and funds eligible to invest in India can participate in the disinvestment process. The minimum net worth of a company or a consortium required to submit EoIs is Rs 1,400 crore, it said.
As per the Preliminary Information Memorandum (PIM), non-operational or surplus land assets will be hived-off and excluded it from the process of strategic disinvestment.
(with agency inputs)
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