Pawan Hans disinvestment: Govt extends EoI submission deadline to Feb 18

• DIPAM said that the last date for the submission of EoIs has been extended from January 19 to February 18

• And the last date for the submission of physical copies for bidders submitting EoIs online has also been extended from February 3 to March 5

New Delhi: Announcing the first extension in its disinvestment plan for Pawan Hans, the Centre has given potential bidders more time for the submission of Expression of Interest (EoI). In a corrigendum released on Saturday, the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) said that the last date for the submission of EoIs has been extended from January 19 to February 18. It added that the last date for the submission of physical copies for bidders submitting EoIs online has also been extended from February 3 to March 5.

"Considering the prevailing Covid-19 situation and consequent logistical challenges faced by Interested Bidders, changes are proposed in the PIM issued on December 08, 2020," said DIPAM.

Pawan Hans disinvestment

The Centre had floated a preliminary information memorandum (PIM) and invited Expression of Interest (EoI) for the strategic disinvestment of its stake in Pawan Hans Limited (PHL) on December 8, 2020. "The GOI has 'in-principle' decided to disinvest its entire equity shareholding in PHL by way of strategic disinvestment ("Strategic Disinvestment") to investor(s) along with transfer of management control. Department of Investment & Public Asset Management ("DIPAM") on behalf of GOI will conduct the Transaction and has appointed SBI Capital Markets Limited (SBICAP) as its advisor ("Advisor" or "Transaction Advisor" or "TA") to advise and manage the Strategic Disinvestment of PHL ("Proposed Transaction" or "Transaction")," the DIPAM notification had said.

ALSO READ: Govt floats PIM for strategic disinvestment of Pawan Hans 

Pawan Hans Limited (PHL)

Pawan Hans Limited is a Mini-Ratna Category-I CPSU under the Ministry of Civil Aviation to provide air transport services for exploration activities of ONGC and helicopter transportation services to the North-East region etc. While the Centre holds 51 percent in the company, the rest 49 percent is owned by ONGC. The PSU's authorised capital as on March 31, 2020 is Rs 560 crore (5,60,000 equity shares of Rs 10,000 each).

As of now, the company has 42 helicopters in its fleet. However, average monthly deployment is 30. The company has been making losses for the last two financial years. It posted a net loss of Rs 69.20 crore in FY2018-19 and earned Rs 414 crore. In FY2019-20, the net loss dropped to Rs 28 crore while the total revenue came down to Rs 376.82 crore. 

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