UAE’s Sky One FZE is among the bidders in the race to buy the government’s stake in helicopter services company Pawan Hans, according to people aware of the matter. Pawan Hans was put up for sale in December last year.
The Sharjah-based company has submitted an expression of interest (EoI) for the helicopter services firm and is planning a bid, the people said. There could be other bidders competing to acquire the company, but ET has not been able to ascertain their names.
“Multiple EoIs have been received for privatisation of Pawan Hans Ltd. The transaction will now move to the second stage,” Tuhin Kanta Pandey, secretary, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) had tweeted earlier this year.
The sale process, which has faced delays on account of the Covid-19 pandemic that adversely impacted the aviation sector, has picked up momentum again over the past two weeks, according to sources. The government may receive financial bids for Pawan Hans before the end of the fiscal year, the sources added.
SBI Caps is the transaction advisor to the government.
Sky One FZE did not respond to ET’s requests for comment till press time Wednesday.
The government had attempted to privatize Pawan Hans in 2018 and 2019 but those were not successful.
Sky One FZE is a privately held company. It is in the business of operating helicopter charter services and has an aircraft leasing arm.
It recently signed a deal with Boeing Capital Corporation to buy three Boeing 777-300 airplanes, according to Boeing’s website. Charles Szar, a former US army pilot, is the company’s chief executive officer. No details of the company’s ownership have been provided on its website, which states that it has over 40 aircraft.
ONGC to Sell Stake too
Pawan Hans is 51% owned by the government, while ONGC owns the remaining. According to a preliminary information memorandum circulated by SBI Caps in December last year, ONGC will also sell its stake to the successful bidder. Pawan Hans owns a fleet of 42 helicopters. Its corporate headquarters is in Noida.
The company provides services to ONGC, such as carrying personnel and supplies including cargo to drilling rigs in Bombay High and Rajahmundry. It carried 1,48,508 passengers and 1,45,750 kg of cargo load in financial year 2019-20.
It also provides helicopter services to VIPs and is involved in heli-tourism operations to places of pilgrimage such as Badrinath, Vaishno Devi, Kedarnath, Amarnath and Tirupati as well as inter-island transportation in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Daman and Diu and Lakshadweep Islands to transport locals and tourists from one island to another. It posted revenues of ₹376 crore in financial year 2019-20. It had a net loss of ₹28 crore.
Pawan Hans is among a list of companies identified for privatization by the government in the ongoing fiscal year, along with Air India, Shipping Corporation of India, Bharat Petroleum Corporation, BEML, Container Corporation of India, IDBI Bank and Neelachal Ispat Nigam.
