Almas Global has reportedly failed to make payments to a company’s creditors under an approved resolution plan
Almas Global has reportedly failed to make payments to a company’s creditors under an approved resolution plan
The government has put the sale of Pawan Hans on hold as it reviews an NCLT order against Almas Global, the largest shareholder in the winning consortium, an official said Monday.
Last month the government elected Star9 Mobility Pvt. Ltd., a consortium of Big Charter Private Ltd., Maharaja Aviation Private Ltd. and Almas Global Opportunity Fund SPC, as the successful bidder for Pawan Hans.
While Big Charter and Maharaja Aviation own 26% and 25%, respectively, of Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) Star9 Mobility Pvt. ltd Almas Global Opportunity Fund SPC holds 49%.
The official said the award letter to the winning consortium has not yet been issued as legal opinions are being sought.
“We will conduct a legal review of the NCLT order before proceeding. No award was issued,” the official said. The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) reportedly issued an order last month after Almas Global failed to make payments to creditors of a Kolkata-based company under an approved resolution plan.
This is the second strategic divestment that has encountered rough weather. The sale of Central Electronics Ltd. (CEL) stalled due to certain allegations against the successful bidder.
The government last November had the highest price offer of ₹210 crore from Delhi-based Nandal Finance and Leasing Pvt. approved. ltd for the sale of a 100% government equity stake in CEL – a CPSE under the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR).
“The letter of intent (LoI) was not issued to the successful bidder and was suspended pending the examination of certain allegations against the bidder,” Minister of State for Finance Bhagwat Kishanrao Karad informed Parliament in February.
Pawan Hans is a 51:49 joint venture between the government and ONGC.
The government had received three bids for the sale of Pawan Hans in December last year.
Star9 Mobility had quoted Pawan Hans at ₹211.14 crore, which was above the reserve price of ₹199.92 crore set by the Government based on the valuation carried out by the Transaction Advisor and Asset Valuer.
The other two bids were for ₹181.05 crore and ₹153.15 crore.
