Tata Steel, Jindal Steel and Power, JSW Steel, Adani Group and Vedanta Group are likely to bid for the government’s majority stake in NMDC Steel Ltd, a steel plant separated from India’s largest iron ore producer, NMDC Ltd, three people familiar with the development said.
The central government will sell 50.79% of its 60.79% holding in the under-construction steel plant at Nagarnar, Chhattisgarh that is being built with an investment of Rs 20,000 crore. The plant, with a capacity to produce 3 million tonnes per annum, is likely to be commissioned by the end of March.
The Chhattisgarh government has opposed the plant’s privatization and passed a resolution last year to purchase the plant if the Centre were to privatize it. However, it was unclear whether the state intended to submit a bid or had submitted the bid.
The eligibility criteria set by the government specify that central, state or joint PSEs where the government has more than 51% ownership would not be permitted to participate in the bidding. The conditions also mention that interested bidders, either sole or consortium, should have a minimum net worth of Rs 5,000 crore.
The ministry of corporate affairs approved the demerger of the steel plant from NMDC in October. In December, the government received an in-principle approval from BSE for listing NMDC Steel and has since started the process.
The Centre first approved the disinvestment in October 2020 when the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs gave its ‘in-principle’ approval to the demerger of the Nagarnar steel manufacturing unit from NMDC and strategic disinvestment of the entity by selling the entire stake held by the government.
With the initial expression of interest coming in by the month-end, the next steps, including combing through the bids, determining eligibility, opening up virtual data rooms and allowing qualified bidders to begin due diligence, are likely to push the transaction over to the next financial year.
