The Indian government will soon invite fresh bids for 100 percent stake sale in Pawan Hans by issuing an addendum to the disinvestment document as ONGC is ready to sell its entire stake in the company, reported PTI quoting an official.

The helicopter services provider, Pawan Hans is a joint venture between the government (51 percent stake) and state-owned oil and gas company ONGC (49 percent stake), with a fleet of 46 choppers. On April 13, the government had issued the information memorandum for the 51 percent strategic stake sale in Pawan Hans and had sought Expression of Interest (EoI) from interested bidders by June 18. About half a dozen bidders are believed to have submitted bids.

According to the PTI report, on July 2, ONGC wrote to the government saying that its board has resolved that it would prefer to exit Pawan Hans simultaneously with the government, and a senior government official told PTI that an addendum to the existing document would be issued soon, seeking bids for 100 percent stake in Pawan Hans.

"An addendum would be issued to the EoI (Expression of Interest) document issued on April 13. The addendum would state that ONGC has expressed its interest in selling its 49 percent holding and fresh bids can be put in for the entire 100 percent stake," the official told PTI.

SBI Capital Markets is the transaction advisor for strategic disinvestment of Pawan Hans. The government had first floated an offer to sell its 51 percent stake in October last year, but in view of subdued response from bidders, the EoI was withdrawn in April this year. At that time, some investors had suggested that the government and ONGC should sell their stakes together.

Later on April 13, the government came out with a fresh information memorandum for the strategic sale of Pawan Hans wherein bidders need to have a minimum net worth of Rs 500 crore. Among others, Pawan Hans provides seven choppers to ONGC for its off-shore helicopter requirements for a crew change and production tasks, including night ambulance.

Inputs from PTI