M&A

M&A

Undone: Govt calls off strategic sale of Pawan Hans

Economic Times  

The government has called off the strategic disinvestment of helicopter service provider Pawan Hans after the winning bidder – Star9 Mobility – was disqualified due to pending legal cases against it. The government and ONGC hold 51% and 49% stake in Pawan Hans. In April last year, the government decided to sell Pawan Hans for INR 211.14 crore to Star9 Mobility, a consortium of Big Charter Pvt Ltd, Maharaja Aviation Pvt Ltd and Almas Global Opportunity Fund SPC. However, the sale was put on hold in May 2022 after it emerged that the Kolkata bench of National Company Law Tribunal had issued an adverse order against Almas Global Opportunity Fund SPC, in another case relating to a resolution plan under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code. Consequently, government did not issue the letter of intent for sale to the winning bidder.