Maharashtra to sell minority pie in Manganese Ore

Metdist, Monnet Ispat evince interest

The Maharashtra government has decided to sell its minority shareholding in state-owned Manganese Ore India, agreeing to tag along with the Centre, which has put the company on the block.

In a letter to disinvestment ministry, principal secretary (industries) V S Dhumal communicated the state government's intention to tag along with the Centre in the process, offering its entire 9.62 per cent stake, official sources said.

Earlier, the centre, while deciding to sell 51 per cent stake in the company, had invited its two minority partners "" Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra governments "" to come on board.

An inter-ministerial group set by government is reported to have taken note of the developments and intimated the prospective bidders.

This takes the total percentage of shares offered for sale to around 68 per cent with Madhya Pradesh government previously agreeing to the deal.

Over a dozen bidders are reported to have expressed interest in acquiring stake in the company including Metdist, Monnet Ispat and employees union.

The Centre currently holds 82 per cent stake in the PSU, while the remaining 18 per cent is shared between the two state governments.

Maharashtra government's move seems to have come in the wake of dire financial situation faced by it and compounded by the fact that undertaking this exercise at a later stage could prove to be a costly affair.

The government has mandated KPMG to act as advisors for the deal.

Due-diligence exercise has already begun with several parties having paid visits to the company mines located in central and western india.

However, the employees' bid seems to have been rejected by the government on grounds that it did not meet the minimum eligibility criteria of Rs 75 crore.

The unions are learnt to be contemplating legal action against the government which could forestall the exercise.