Search for NSL’s private bidder comes full circle

hyderabad: it''s back to square one for the public sector reforms implementation secretariat, as far as privatisation of nizam sugars is concerned. the authority, which oversees and implements the privatisation, restructuring and closure of unviable state-owned public enterprises in andhra pradesh, finds itself in a piquant situation after the preferred bidder d k adikesavulu backed out from the commitment to takeover the unit. thus, the is has been forced to scout for new buyers. sources in the is told et that the zaheerabad unit, having 2,500 mtpa crushing capacity, was put on the privatisation block in 2000, and there was a fairly good response from prospective acquirers for acquiring it. and after carrying out the due process of selection, the is identified the bid submitted by d k adikesavulu, a liquor baron, as the most attractive among all, as he quoted a high price of rs 22.50 crore for acquiring the unit. the elated is began making preparations for completing the formalities, both statutory and administrative, for handing over the unit to the preferred bidder. but, much to its disappointment, the preferred bidder backed out of the process. “we do not know why exactly he has decided to back out. it’s rather unfortunate,� the officials said. . faced with no other alternative, the is has decided to call for fresh bids for taking over the zaheerabad unit. “we have called for fresh tenders from prospective purchasers and set may 22, 2002, as the deadline for submission of the bids,� they said and added they hoped to get a good response this time too. the officials also said they hoped that this kind of experience wouldn’t be repeated in other cases. the is is now in the process of completing the formalities for handing over the other four units of nsl — three sugar mills and one distillery — to the preferred bidder, delta paper mills. while two of the units are located in shakkarnagar, the other two are situated in mombojipalli and metpalli. the dmpl had quoted rs 65.40 crore as the value of assets belonging to the four units. it has offered to transfer the assets to a new joint venture company, newco, to be formed with the state government. the new company will have an equity base of rs 20 crore and it will be shared in the ratio of 51 per cent by the dpml and 49 per cent by the state government.