New Delhi: The Government has said that it has approved the highest bid of Star9 Mobility Pvt Ltd for the sale of its 51 per cent stake in Pawan Hans Limited for Rs 211.14 crore.

The Alternative Mechanism, empowered by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), has approved the highest bid of M/s Star9 Mobility Private Ltd for the sale of the entire Central government's shareholding (51 per cent of shareholding) of Pawan Hans Limited (PHL) and transfer of management control, the government said in an official statement.

PHL is a joint venture of the Central government and ONGC providing helicopter and aero mobility services. The government holds 51 per cent of the shares in the company and ONGC holds the balance 49 per cent. ONGC had earlier decided to offer its entire shareholding to the successful bidder identified in the strategic disinvestment.

The CCEA had approved the strategic disinvestment of the entire government stake in PHL in October, 2016. The transaction had been attempted thrice in the past. In the first round, the Preliminary Information Memorandum (PIM) was issued on October 13, 2017, seeking Expressions of Interest (EOI). Out of four EOIs received, only one was found eligible and the transaction was cancelled. In the second round, PIM was issued seeking EOIs on April 14, 2018, and two bidders were found eligible and were issued the Request for Proposal (RFP).

Finally, however, a single, incomplete bid non-compliant with the RFP was received. In the third round, PIM was issued seeking EOIs on July 11, 2019. Out of four EOIs received, only one was found eligible and the process was cancelled. This is the fourth iteration with the request for Expressions of Interest (EoI) invited on December 8, 2020. Seven EoIs were received and four interested bidders were shortlisted as qualified bidders. After detailed due diligence, the qualified bidders were invited to submit financial bids. Three financial bids were received.

As per extant procedure, the Reserve Price for the sale of 51 per cent shareholding of PHL was fixed at Rs 199.92 crore, on the basis of valuation carried out by experts (transaction adviser and asset valuer). Thereafter, the three bids were opened in the presence of the bidders. All three bids were found to be valid. M/s Star9 Mobility Private Ltd, a consortium of M/s Big Charter Private Limited, M/s Maharaja Aviation Private Limited and M/s Almas Global Opportunity Fund SPC emerged as the highest bidder, quoting Rs 211.14 crore, which was above the Reserve Price.

The other two bids were for Rs 181.05 crore and Rs 153.15 crore. Following due deliberations, the financial bid of M/s Star9 Mobility Private Limited has been accepted by the government, the the Ministry of Finance said in an official statement.