Mining conglomerate Vedanta on Friday beat Gautam Adani's Group to make a winning bid for the acquisition of debt-ridden Jaiprakash Associates (JAL) for Rs 17,000 crore, according to sources. The bid value translates into Jaiprakash Associates' net present value of Rs 12,505 crore.
The decision was taken by the ministry this week, a top Coal Ministry official said, while refusing to reveal the names of the companies.
Faced with one setback after another in expanding the scope of mining in the country, almost all the major miners of the world have wound down their operations in India.
The BSE Midcap ended up 0.5% while the Smallcap index ended nearly 1% higher
Privatisation of BPCL, which was dubbed India's biggest ever, has been stalled with just one bidder left in the fray after two others walked out over issues such as lack of clarity in fuel pricing, a top source said. The government had planned to sell its entire 52.98 per cent stake in Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and invited Expression of Interest from bidders in March 2020. At least three bids came in by November 2020 but only one remains now after the others withdrew from the race.
The Coal Ministry on Monday received a total 69 applications from various PSUs
US private equity firm I Squared Capital is dropping out of the race to buy India's second-largest state oil firm, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) owing to a complex deal structure and lack of financial backers for the transaction, sources said. I Squared Capital through its Indian arm, Think Gas was among the three suitors that had evinced interest in buying the government's near 53 per cent shareholding in BPCL. "The company has made a decision not to participate in the financial bidding," a source with direct knowledge of the development said.
It is the low cost of iron ore extracted from their adivasi homeland mines that enables steelmakers like Tata Steel and Essar, and miners like NMDC, not only to be among the most profitable companies in India, but also gives it the financial muscle to make huge overseas acquisitions. Ultimately, it is the poor adivasi who pays for it with his home and hearth and gets no credit for it! Either from the State, which connives in their exploitation, or the industry that lords over their resources, says Mohan Guruswamy.
The government has received three preliminary bids for buying of controlling stake in India's second-largest fuel retailer Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Wednesday. Mining-to-oil conglomerate Vedanta had on November 18 confirmed putting in an expression of interest (EoI) for buying the government's 52.98 per cent stake in BPCL. The other two bidders are said to be global funds, one of them being Apollo Global Management.