Received multiple Expressions of Interest for stake sale in BEML, says Centre

The Centre has received multiple Expressions of Interest for the privatisation of Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML), the government said on Monday.

“Multiple Expressions of Interest received for the privatisation of BEML. The transaction will now move to the second stage,” twitted the secretary of Department of Investment and Public Asset Management twitted on Monday evening.

In January, the government said that DIAPM will divest 26% in BEML out of its shareholding of 54.03% along with the management control of the Bengaluru-based company.

March 1 was set as the last date of submission of the bids.

The eligibility criterion for a bidder was that the company must have a minimum net worth of Rs 1,400 crore.

BEML was one of the 23 PSUs that were approved for disinvestment in July last year. A cumulative disinvestment target of Rs 2.10 lakh crore was set.

BEML was set up in May 1964 at a public sector enterprise for manufacturing rail compartments and mining machinery at its Bangalore operations. The company operates in three domains – defence, mining/construction and railways.

It has nine manufacturing units mostly in the southern part of the country. The company has about 6,300 employees.

In March 2020, the company posted a PAT of Rs 68.38 crore on a turnover of Rs 3,028.82 crore.

The first disinvestment of its shares took place in the 1990s when the government divested 25% of the stake in the company.

On March 22, its share sold at Rs 1,387.10 at the NSE.

In the budget for 2021-22, Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has set a target of Rs 1.75 lakh crore that would be mopped up from disinvestment during the year.

The minister announced that strategic sale of IDBI Bank, BPCL, Shipping Corp, Container Corporation, Neelachal Ispat Nigam Ltd, Pawan Hans and Air India would take place in the next financial year. The government is also supposed to privatise two public sector banks and one general insurance company during the year.

On Monday evening, the DIAPM secretary also informed on twitter that the “disinvestment of government holding completed of 16,12% in TCL (Tata Communications Ltd) through OFS (offer for sale) at Rs 5,457 cr and 10% to strategic partner at OFS discovered price for Rs 3,389 cr. With this, Government exits from TCL with total proceeds of Rs 8,846 cr.”