India approved the sale of a stake in state-run refiner Hindustan Petroleum Corp. to the country’s biggest oil and gas explorer, according to a person with knowledge of the decision.
The move fulfills a plan, first outlined in February, to create an Indian oil giant through consolidation and mergers, forming a company comparable with international rivals that could weather crude-price volatility. Bringing HPCL into its fold will make Oil & Natural Gas Corp(ONGC) . the nation’s No. 3 refiner after Indian Oil Corp. and Reliance Industries Ltd. The stake is valued at about 299 billion rupees ($4.6 billion), based on Wednesday’s closing stock price.
“This deal will make both ONGC and HPCL stronger as the benefits of synergy are huge,” ONGC Chairman Dinesh Kumar Sarraf said in a phone interview on Wednesday. “It will add value to shareholders of both companies.”
Read more at: bloomberg