Kolkata: Ahead of Haldia Petrochemicals' board meeting slated for tomorrow, state-owned Indian Oil Corporation Thursday said it is keen to increase its stakeholding in the cash-strapped firm.
"We hold nine percent stake in HPL and we are very keen to increase our stakeholding in the company by acquiring the shares of West Bengal government held through WBIDC," an IOC source told PTI.
He said that IOC had already conveyed this intention to the West Bengal government.
The West Bengal government has already expressed its interest to sell its shares in HPL through auction for which a transactional advisor, Deloitte, had been appointed for valuation of the company's shares.
The government intended to finish the sell-off process by March this year.
WBIDC would put its shares (nearly 40 percent) on the block after an auction would be held for bidding.
Industry minister Partha Chatterjee had said that TCG of Purnendu Chatterjee would be offered the shares at the highest bid to exercise its first right of refusal, failing which the offer would go to the highest bidder.
To a query, the IOC official said that the company was willing to take part in the bidding process which would depend on the terms and conditions, if there were any.
“Based on that IOC will take a call", he said.
Gaining control of HPL would help IOC in the polymers business pan-India.
PTI
First Published: Thursday, January 31, 2013, 20:58