Vedanta eyes BPCL stake, submits EoI
NEW DELHI: Vedanta Group on Wednesday confirmed putting in a preliminary expression of interest (EoI) for buying government’s stake in Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL).
Vedanta’s interest in India’s second largest fuel retailer is because of synergies with its existing oil and gas business.
The government is selling its entire 52.98% stake in BPCL and last date of submitting EoI was November 16.
“Vedanta’s EoI for BPCL is to evaluate potential synergies with our existing oil and gas business,” the company spokesperson said in a statement.
“The EoI is at a preliminary stage and exploratory in nature.” The government had at the close of bidding stated that “multiple” EoIs had been received. It, however, did not reveal the identity of the bidders.
However, billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd as well as oil majors Saudi Aramco, BP and Total SE did not make a bid. “The transaction will move to the second stage after scrutiny by TA (transaction advisor),” Tuhin Kanta Pandey, secretary, department of investment and public asset management (DIPAM), which is handling the strategic sale, had tweeted earlier.
Reliance Industries, which was considered a potential bidder as BPCL would have added 22% fuel market share to its fledgling retail business and made it the nation’s number one oil refiner, did not put in an EoI at the close of the deadline on Monday.
Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco), which had been keen to enter the world’s fastestgrowing fuel market, too did not put in an EoI.
A clutch of private equity funds and/or pension funds are said to have put in an EoI.
Russian energy giant Rosneftled Nayara Energy, which operates a 20 million tonne oil refinery at Vadinar in Gujarat and also has 5,822 petrol pumps, was considered a potential bidder for BPCL but reports last month had indicated it was no longer keen.
BPCL is India’s second-largest oil marketing company with a standalone domestic sales volume of over 43.10 million tonnes and a market share of 22% during FY20. It is India’s 6th largest company by turnover.