Mumbai: Pawan Hans staff to bid for firm, raise ₹800 crore

A group of Pawan Hans employees plans to participate in the sale process of the helicopter service company and hopes to raise around ₹800 crore to this end. Earlier

A group of Pawan Hans employees plans to participate in the sale process of the helicopter service company and hopes to raise around ₹800 crore to this end. Earlier this month, the government had invited fresh bids for the strategic sale of Pawan Hans along with transfer of management control.

Pawan Hans.

According to sources, a group of employees will participate in the bidding process for Pawan Hans. Before submitting their bid, the group will meet Air India officials to learn about the disinvestment and bidding process.

“With January 19 slated to be the last date for submission of bids, officers from both Delhi and Mumbai are coordinating with each other and are working toward looking for potential investors to participate in the bidding process,” said a Delhi-based official on condition of anonymity.

A source in Pawan Hans said the employees may either tie up with a financial institution or join a prospective bidder, with the first option being considered preferable. “A few senior management officials are set to meet Air India officials. This meeting is expected to seek ideas from the airline employees on the potential investors and the complete process ahead.”

A Pawan Hans official said that around 60 employees, including 20 senior pilots and top management, have been actively pursuing the matter. Talks are on with four financial institutions to raise funds. Pawan Hans currently has 349 permanent employees and around 700 employees in total. “According to norms, 15% of the company’s permanent employees should be bidding for the process. Hence, the criterion is met as we have more than 50 employees participating in the bidding process,” said the official. The employees will have to work out a deal that a potential investor would consider profitable.

“We are sure of making profits within a year of taking over the company and restructuring it. Our immediate aim is to communicate to our potential investors that the company has been in loss for the last couple of years due to mismanagement. We expect the bid to cost us around ₹700-800 crore,” said a Pawan Hans official.

In 2019-20, Pawan Hans reported a net loss of ₹28 crore, which is less than 2018-19’s net loss of ₹69 crore. In 2018, the government had invited bids to sell 51% stake in Pawan Hans. However, the bid was withdrawn after Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) decided to sell its 49% stake in Pawan Hans. In 2019, a second attempt was made to sell Pawan Hans, but the sale failed to receive investor response.