The government has invited interested buyers for the sale of its 63.5 per cent shareholding along with the management control in Shipping Corporation of India.
Employees of the company have been allowed to bid either individually or by forming a consortium but will have to follow the government guidelines on the sale of the company. Other interest buyers may include private-public companies, limited liability partnerships, SEBI-registered alternatives investment funds or any other fund eligible for investing in India.
The government has also released guidelines, mentioning the qualifications needed to bid for the corporation. The minimum net worth of Rs2,000 crore is required to enter the bidding process. If the bidder is consolidated, net worth would be calculated on a consolidated basis. In case of a consortium, the leading figure of the group would require to have a minimum net worth of Rs1,000 crore. Both categories should have positive Ebitda or earnings before interest, depreciation and amortization in three of five financial years.
In case of funds, the net worth is 0.25 times of assets under management or 100% of committed capital. CPSEs are not allowed to bid.
The deadline set by the government for online entries is Feb 13, 2021. However, physical submissions have a deadline of March 1.
"Certain non-core assets are to be hived off from SCIL and shall not form part of the transaction, the details of which will be shared at the RFP stage," the government said in the preliminary information memorandum issued Tuesday.
The Shipping Corporation of India is the country’s largest shipping company catering to the overseas and coastal transportation of good thanks to its fleet strength of 70 ships.
The government is looking to mop up Rs 2.1 lakh crore from disinvestment for FY21. Of this Rs 1.2 lakh crore is expected from strategic stake sales.
