BHEL rallies 16%, hits fresh 52-week high on stake sale buzz

NEW DELHI: Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) rallied 15.8 per cent in trade to hit its fresh 52-week high of Rs 229.85 on reports that the Cabinet is likely to ratify the decision to sell 4.66 per cent stake in power equipment maker BHEL through a block deal on Tuesday.

The proposal for post-facto approval for BHEL disinvestment is on the agenda of tomorrow's meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs ( CCEA), PTI reported quoting unnamed sources.

The Finance Ministry in March had sold 4.66 per cent stake in the state-owned company to Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) for about Rs 1,889 crore. LIC purchased 11.41 crore shares in BHEL at a price of Rs 165.55 apiece through a block deal on the BSE.

Following the block deal, the government stake in BHEL came down to 63.06 per cent, from 67.72 per cent.

The Empowered Group of Ministers, headed by Finance Minister P Chidambaram, had in February decided on the timing and mode of disinvestment in BHEL