The Hindu : IOC ready to buy Govt.'s balance stake in IBP

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jan 07, 2003

Business

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IOC ready to buy Govt.'s balance stake in IBP

MUMBAI JAN. 6. Indian Oil Corporation is "ready'' to buy out the Government's balance 26 per cent stake in the oil marketing company IBP Ltd and make it a 100 per cent owned subsidiary.

"The Government has put an option for selling its shares in IBP. We are more than happy to buy these shares. It is up to the Centre to decide on divestment of its 26 per cent equity in the company,'' the IOC and IBP Chairman, M. S. Ramanchandran, told reporters here today.

He said as per the share purchase agreement signed with the Government, the IOC had a call option that allowed the oil major to buy the remaining IBP stock only after three years of its acquisition of the marketing company.

Mr. Ramachandran was in Mumbai to relaunch IBP's customer service programme as "Pure bhi poora bhi'' covering all its 1,809 retail outlets set up across the country.

The Government had divested its 33.58 per cent stake in the Kolkata-based IBP to IOC which had made an aggressive bid of Rs. 1,551.10 per share for the acquisition.

On integration of IBP into the IOC fold, Mr. Ramachandran said both the companies had set up a coordination committee and were aligning their business activities such as a mutual hospitality arrangement.

"IBP has closed some of its depots and shelved plans for setting up port terminals among other issues as they were not in line with IOC's business plans,'' the Chairman added. — PTI

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