New Delhi: Disinvestment-bound Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) has finalised the commercial terms for the purchase of Oman Oil Company's share in Bina Refinery for Rs 2,399.26 crore (Rs 27 per equity share) and is in the process of agreeing to definitive documentation with the latter, the oil marketing company said on Wednesday. In a regulatory filing to the stock exchanges, BPCL said, "… Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited ("BPCL") has finalized commercial terms in connection with the purchase by BPCL of the 888,613,336 equity shares of Bharat Oman Refineries Limited ("BORL"), constituting 36.62% of the equity share capital of BORL (on a non-diluted basis) from OQ S.A.0.C. (formerly known as Oman Oil Company S.A.0.C.) ("OQ"), for a consideration of approx. INR 2,399.26 crore and is in the process of agreeing to definitive documentation with OQ."
"The transaction is subject to the execution of the relevant transaction documentation, and other conditions agreed upon among the parties and specified in the transaction documentation," BPCL said.
BPCL said that no governmental or regulatory approvals are required for the acquisition of Oman Oil Company's stake in BORL. Acquisition of equity shares of BORL by BPCL from OQ is part of the ongoing exercise of consolidating the group companies of BPCL. Following the completion of the transaction, BPCL will hold 100 percent of the equity share capital (on a non-diluted basis) in BORL.
The oil marketing company also said that the indicative time period for the completion of the acquisition is March 31. The news comes a day after BPCL Director (Finance) N Vijayagopal said that the company is going to soon come out with an announcement on the acquisition. "Discussions (to acquire 36.62 percent stake of Oman Oil Company) have concluded. We can come out with an announcement of the acquisition of the stake in next 10 days or so," he had said. BPCL holds 63.68 percent stake in Bharat Oman Refineries Ltd (BORL), which operates the 7.8 million tonne refinery in Bina, Madhya Pradesh. He had also said that the company is hopeful about completing the disinvestment of Numaligarh Refinery Ltd (NRL) by March 31.
The consolidation exercise comes as the government is set to privatise BPCL by selling its stake to a strategic player. The government has also said that it is hopeful about completing the privatisation of BPCL in the first half of the next financial year.
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