Vedanta group plans to raise $8 billion via debt and equity to make a bid for acquiring Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL). London-based mining conglomerate Vedanta Resources has begun discussions with banks to raise capital, according to a Mint report. “The talks are currently on to appoint an anchor bank for the purpose and discussions with JP Morgan are at an advanced stage,” a source told the publication.
Vedanta had in November submitted an expression of interest (EoI) for the government's holding in BPCL.
“Vedanta's EoI (expression of interest) for BPCL is to evaluate potential synergies with our existing oil and gas business. The EoI is at a preliminary stage and exploratory in nature,” the newspaper had quoted the company as saying.
The news agency PTI reported that a high-powered committee had on December 15 evaluated preliminary bids for the government's 52.98 percent stake in BPCL. Vedanta, Apollo Global and I Squared Capital's arm Think Gas submitted their offers for the fuel retailer.
The panel saw transaction advisor Deloitte's report on the scrutiny of the three bids that were received at the close of bidding in November, sources told PTI. The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, the parent ministry of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), has also been asked to give its views on the response and the process so far.
Tuhin Kanta Pandey, Secretary, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM), which is handling the strategic sale, had tweeted on November 16 that the transaction advisors for the sale of government's 52.98 percent stake in BPCL have reported receiving "multiple expressions of interest." "The transaction will move to the second stage after scrutiny by transaction advisor," he had said.
