The government has restarted the process of divesting its entire 51 per cent stake and management control in Pawan Hans Ltd (PHL), the largest helicopter operator in the country. The global invitation for Expression of Interest for the proposed strategic divestment of 51 per cent stake in PHL was issued on Thursday.

The successful bidder as identified by the government will also have the option to buy Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd’s stake of 49 per cent in PHL. Details of this will be provided at the Request for Proposal stage, the EOI states.

The shortlisted bidders will be required to submit their financial bids in the form of the price per share for acquiring the government’s 51 per cent equity stake in PHL along with important supporting documents including bid letter, bank guarantee and a declaration of security clearance, the EOI states.

Interested parties must have a net worth of ₹350 crore to be eligible to bid for PHL.

The transaction advisor is now taking queries from interested parties and has fixed August 8 to provide answers to these in the form of Frequently Answered Questions. The shortlisted bidders will be announced on September 12. At the moment, it is not clear by when the entire transaction will be completed.

The company’s authorised capital as on March 31, 2019 was ₹560 crore and it had contingent liabilities related to tax and statutory dues of ₹576.99 crore.

The successful bidder will have the ‘Right to Use’ PHL’s facilities at Rohini Heliport, other hangar and bases (on lease from AAI) used for providing helicopter services for two years from the consummation of the proposed transaction, the EOI states.

The EOI further states that the successful bidder will have to ensure that no permanent employee of PHL is retrenched/terminated for one year from the date of consummation of the proposed transaction other than termination or dismissal for a cause in accordance with applicable staff and regulations and standing orders or applicable law.

Lock-in clause

The successful bidder will be required to lock-in its shareholding in PHL and in the special purpose vehicle (in case investment in PHL is made through a special purpose vehicle by a consortium or otherwise) for three years and will not be allowed to cede the management control of PHL and of the special purpose vehicle for this period.

PHL was set up as a public sector undertaking under MoCA to provide helicopter services for ONGC exploration activities and for the North-East region.

PHL is the industry leader of helicopter operations in India with the largest fleet strength of 43 helicopters with a diverse fleet mix of light, medium and heavy helicopters. In fiscal 2018, it had a market share of more than 28 per cent in terms of total flying hours.

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