India expects global oil majors to team up with investment funds that are already in the race for the nation\u2019s biggest asset sale — state-owned refiner Bharat Petroleum Corp.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen the price bidding comes up, I am hopeful some of the major players will come through this fund route,\u201d Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said in an interview with Bloomberg Television on Thursday. Billionaire Anil Agarwal\u2019s Vedanta group has confirmed it submitted an initial bid for Bharat Petroleum, while newspaper reports have said two U.S. funds — Apollo Global and I Squared Capital — have also shown interest.<\/p>\n
India: Oil Producers Backtracking on Supply Assurance (Video)<\/p>\n
An official said in February Last year that several top oil producers from the Middle East and Russia\u2019s Rosneft PJSC had shown interest in buying India\u2019s third-biggest refiner and second-largest fuel retailer, lured by the South Asian nation\u2019s oil consumption growth. But they stayed away from submitting initial bids that closed on Nov. 16 after several months of delay.<\/p>\n
The planned $6.5 billion sale of the government\u2019s 53% stake in the refiner will be India\u2019s first big-ticket transaction in over a decade. It is crucial for Prime Minister Narendra Modi\u2019s government as it seeks to boost spending to help Asia\u2019s third-biggest economy shake-off the pandemic-fueled downturn.<\/p>\n