A F Ferguson to advise on HCL divestment

new delhi: the government has mandated consultancy major a f ferguson to act as global advisers for privatising hindustan copper in place of idbi-sumitomo bank consortium. “we have appointed ferguson as global advisers for undertaking disinvestment in hcl to replace idbi-sumitomo bank combine,’’ official sources said. the move to replace the consortium comes in the wake of exit of the combine following a decision to scrap the earlier proposal for disinvestment. the new global adviser has been entrusted with the task of inviting fresh bids before end of this fiscal for offloading stake in the company. the government proposes to offload its entire 98 per cent stake to a strategic partner. earlier, the government had proposed to hive off khetri and taloja plants of hcl into a new company in which the government would hold 49 per cent stake, the remaining 51 per cent being infused by strategic partner. the proposal fell through after bidders showed reluctance in picking up stake citing the heavy debt burden of the company. they also argued that the proposal to hive off units was unattractive as it did not have a unique selling point. geographical location of khetri smelter meant that huge transport costs would have to be incurred in transporting metal to customers making it unviable. as many as four players, including domestic giants sterlite and birla copper, were reported to be in the fray.