The government on Tuesday extended the deadline for submitting financial bids for privatisation of Hindustan Copper Ltd till the end of this month as prospective bidders sought further information about the company.

The financial bids for the copper major was slated to close on Tuesday.

This follows a request by the bidders seeking additional information on legal and arbitration cases pending against the company, sources associated with the process said.

Bidders also sought more information about the central excise and sale tax cases involving the company, along with the exposure limit.

The government would divest its entire 98 per cent equity in Hindustan Copper in favour of a strategic buyer along with management control.

A F Ferguson have been mandated to act as global advisors for the deal.

Only two bidders, Sterlite Industries and Birla Copper, remain in the fray for majority stake in the company.

The Kolkata based copper major has been incurring losses for the last couple of years following a slump in copper prices.

Hindustan Copper recorded a loss of Rs 149 crore (Rs 1.49 billion) last fiscal.

An earlier attempt to privatise the company was aborted last year following a lukewarm response from bidders following which government undertook a financial restructuring package.