India-born billionaire Lakshmi Mittal may take 49% stake in Hindustan Petroleum Corporation's (HPCL) $3 billion, under-construction refinery in Bhatinda, Punjab while state-run Oil India (OIL) is likely to get 15% equity stake, leaving HPCL with 36%."Mittal Investments and HPCL are close to signing a joint venture agreement for jointly building the 9 million tonnes a year Bhatinda refinery by 2011," an industry source said.As per the broad understanding reached between the two firms, Mittal will hold 49% stake in the Guru Gobind Singh Refinery, the company implementing the project. HPCL will also hold 49% stake if OIL, which has undertaken due diligence of the project, does not join the refinery project.In case OIL does not join, the remaining two per cent stake would be offered to financial institutions, the source said."Initially, discussions centred around HPCL-Mittal-OIL holding stake in the project and offering the rest through an initial public offering (IPO) closer to commissioning of refinery in 2011. Now, the equity pattern has undergone a change. The IPO may be considered at a later date," the source said.Mittal Investments is wholly owned by the Mittal family and is registered in Luxembourg. It holds 38% in Mittal Steel Company, the Netherlands-based flagship company of the L N Mittal Group.Officials of Mittal Investments and HPCL could not be reached for comments.(PTI)
