Bhatinda: Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) and Mittal Energy Investment Pte Ltd, the Singapore-based subsidiary of ArcelorMittal SA, may divest a part of their stake in $4 billion Bhatinda refinery through an initial public offering (IPO), Lakshmi N Mittal, chairman and chief executive officer of ArcelorMittal, said.
"It (IPO) should happen. But the timing is for the company board to decide. I am not on the board of the company," Mittal told reporters after the Guru Gobind Singh Refinery at Punjab was formerly inaugurated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Saturday.
The refinery, having a capacity of 180,000 barrels per day (bpd), has been set up by HPCL-Mittal Energy Ltd, a joint venture between HPCL and Mittal Energy.
HPCL and Mittal Energy each hold 49% stake in HPCL-Mittal Energy, while 2% is owned by financial institutions.
Mittal said public listed companies are more desirable model.
HPCL and Mittal Energy may offload 10% stake each in the IPO, which is not likely before next year, according to media reports. The funds raised through the stake sale process will be used by the two promoters to pay some of their debt.
Shares of HPCL were trading at Rs 298.25, down 0.53%, on the Bombay Stock Exchange at 2.10 p.m. today.
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