The Transaction Advisor appointed for the privatisation of BPCL had informed that multiple Expressions of Interest (EoIs) had been received for privatisation of BPCL, and the transaction is in second stage of the process. This was stated by Union Minister of State for Finance Dr Bhagwat Kisanrao Karad in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.

The Minister further stated that Transaction Advisor is bound by the non-disclosure agreement for not sharing the information relating to bidders during the currency of the process to ensure competitive non-collusive bidding.

On a question whether Government has a plan in place to ensure security of jobs of current employees of BPCL, the Minister stated that the terms and conditions of the strategic disinvestment in the Share Purchase Agreement suitably address employees’ concerns.

Non-disclosure obligations protect bidding confidentiality in BPCL privatisation and employee terms addressed in Share Purchase Agreement. Multiple Expressions of Interest have been received for BPCL privatisation and the process is in a second stage. The Transaction Advisor is bound by a non-disclosure agreement preventing disclosure of bidder information during the process to preserve competitive non-collusive bidding. Employee concerns are to be addressed through terms in the Share Purchase Agreement of the strategic disinvestment.