Centre to put three PSUs on the block

NEW DELHI. The government will soon put three public-sector companies on the block – Bharat Pumps & Compressors, Bridge & Roof Company, and Hindustan Fluorocarbons — as part of its target to raise Rs 15,000 crore through strategic sale of public-sector unit (PSUs) in the next financial year as part of its disinvestment strategy. 
 
Sources in the finance ministry confirmed that the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management has begun short-listing investment bankers and legal advisors to carry forward the transactions. 
 
The decision is to divest 100 per cent equity in Bharat Pumps & Compressors through strategic sale with transfer of management control. The company manufactures and supplies heavy-duty pumps and CNG gas cylinders required in petroleum exploration, refineries etc. The strategic sale of 99.53 per cent equity and transfer of management control in Bridge & Roof Company, which is under the control of the Ministry of Heavy Industries, is also slated for the next quarter. In addition, the government has decided to sell the entire 56.43 per cent shareholding of Hindustan Organic Chemicals in Hindustan Fluorocarbons through strategic sale. 
 
On Wednesday, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his Budget had announced the government’s intent to strengthen central public sector enterprises through ‘consolidation, mergers and acquisitions’. 
 
The move will give these firms “the capacity to bear higher risk, avail economies of scale, take higher investment decisions and create more value for stakeholders”, Jaitley had said. He had stressed that by these methods, the CPSEs can be integrated across the value chain of an industry.

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