The Finance Ministry said on Friday that Star9 Mobility Pvt Ltd will buy the government’s 51% stake in helicopter service provider Pawan Hans Ltd.
The Finance Ministry said on Friday that Star9 Mobility Pvt Ltd will buy the government’s 51% stake in helicopter service provider Pawan Hans Ltd.
Congress raised questions on this on Sunday Deal to sell Centre’s 51% stake In helicopter service provider Pawan Hans Ltd (PHL), asked why the government did not merge the firm with ONGC, instead of deciding to hand it over to a consortium which is just six months old.
The Finance Ministry on Friday said Star9 Mobility Pvt Ltd will buy the government’s 51% stake in helicopter service provider Pawan Hans Ltd (PHL) along with transfer of management control for Rs 211.14 crore.
The reserve price for the strategic sale, which comes after three failed attempts, was set at ₹199.92 crore based on the valuation done by the transaction advisor and asset valuer.
Attacking the government over the decision, Congress spokesperson Gaurav Vallabh said that in a series of wrong and unwise decisions of disinvestment to justify their fiscal policies, “they are committing many mistakes”.
The reserve price for the sale of this 51% majority stake was fixed at ₹199.92 crore and the other two bidders bid ₹181.05 crore and ₹153.15 crore respectively, Mr. Vallabh said.
Mr. Vallabh said it may sound like a normal disinvestment, but there are several things that raise eyebrows such as Star9 Mobility Pvt Ltd, a consortium of Big Charter Pvt Ltd, Maharaja Aviation Pvt Ltd and Almas Global Opportunity Fund SPC, SET – just six months ago on October 29, 2021.
He said that Star 9 Mobility Pvt Ltd does not have any helicopter of its own whereas Big Charter Pvt Ltd has only 3 helicopters in its fleet. In addition, Almas Global Opportunity Fund SPC is established within the jurisdiction of the Cayman Islands and has no affiliation or experience in this area.
Mr. Vallabh also claimed that there was a court case going on in the Delhi High Court between Big Charter Pvt Ltd and Aizen Aviation Pvt Ltd. He pointed out that Pawan Hans Employees Union expressed interest in participating in the disinvestment process and Pawan Hans’s was also recommended. be merged with ONGC or made a subsidiary but the government “abandoned it”.
He said, “Pawan Hans had made a net profit of Rs 242.78 crore in 2016-17 but has gone downhill from 2018-19 and has incurred a loss of Rs 63.67 crore in 2018-19 and Rs 33.15 crore in 2019-20. “
Raising questions for the Modi government over the decision, Mr Vallabh said there are red flags with the details available about the bidders and their association, and how the government agreed to such a deal.
“Three bidders had participated in the disinvestment process, but only one bidder at the reserve price. What was the reason for the government to go ahead with just one fair bid?” Mr. Vallabh said.
Will the government try to merge Pawan Hans with ONGC, considering that they already have 49 per cent stake and Pawan Hans is playing a very strategic role with ONGC, HAL etc, he asked .
Pointing out that a company which has been consistently earning net profit starts making losses suddenly from 2018-19, at the same time when the disinvestment process was first done, Mr. Vallabh asked whether it would again allow any such person. There is an attempt to reduce the valuation to make selling easier. would benefit.
Shri Vallabh informed that Pawan Hans is the largest helicopter company in South-East Asia with a fleet of 42 helicopters.
Offshore operations, connecting inaccessible areas, charter services, search and rescue operations, VIP transport, corporate and special charter flights, insulators like Kedarnath, Badrinath, Amarnath, Maa Vaishno Devi and hotline washing of heli-pilgrims are some of the major ones. Services.
The loss-making PHL is a 51:49 joint venture between the government and ONGC. ONGC had earlier decided to offer its entire stake to the successful bidder identified in the government’s strategic disinvestment transaction at the same price and terms as the government.
The government had received three financial bids to buy the company in December last year.
Mr Vallabh accused the BJP of being incapable of handling the economy and said that after eight years of disastrous financial management, the economy is in shambles.
He alleged that the BJP government has forced those sectors to end their shackles that need support and magically good companies and sectors have struggled.
They are defying all discretion and common logic to find a way out of financial mismanagement over the past 8 years, Mr. Vallabh said.
Pawan Hans is incurring losses in the last three years (FY-19, FY-20 and FY-21). It has a fleet of 42 helicopters, of which 41 are owned by the company.
The average lifespan of owned helicopters is over 20 years and three-quarters of them are not currently being manufactured by the original equipment manufacturer.