Baseless, has no substance: JSW Steel on report of bidding for Pawan Hans

JSW Steel on Monday called a report about bidding for state-owned helicopter service provider Pawan Hans as "baseless" and stated that it "has no substance."

"It is hereby denied that JSW Steel Ltd submitted bid for acquisition of Pawan Hans Ltd and the company has no interest in this asset. The media report is baseless and has no substance," the steel company said in a regulatory filing.

The clarification came after a report published by Bloomberg, citing sources, had said on Friday that the central government finalise the sale of Pawan Hans Ltd. on Saturday and had received bids from companies including JSW Steel Ltd. and Jindal Steel & Power Ltd, adding that a group of officials headed by Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba wad meeting on Saturday and a final announcement will be made after the approval by a ministerial panel which is largely procedural.

In 2018, the government had invited bids to sell its stake in Pawan Hans. However, the process was withdrawn after ONGC decided to sell its 49 per cent stake in the company along with the government's. In 2019, a second attempt was made to sell the company but it failed to receive investor response.

However, earlier this year in February, the company received multiple preliminary bids for its privatisation process, but the divestment process was halted due to the outbreak of the second wave of Covid-19 in India.

Set up in 1985, Pawan Hans has a fleet of over 40 helicopters and almost 900 employees, 450 of whom are on permanent roles.