Govt firm on stake sale in HZL

New Delhi: The government is committed to offloading its stake in Vedanta Group firm Hindustan Zinc Ltd. (HZL) through Offer For Sale (OFS) and will take the decision on this after testing the market, mines secretary VL Kantha Rao said on Monday. The government, the largest minority shareholder in Hindustan Zinc, owns a 29.54 per cent stake in the company.

“We are committed to OFS,” Rao said on the sidelines of an event here. The statement comes after the mines ministry rejected HZL’s demerger plan. “Demerger, anyways, we have not agreed,” the mines secretary said.

When asked to comment on when the offer for sale o the company is expected, Rao said: “There is no point doing OFS when the market is not ready. Let me test the market…do the roadshow and then we will decide.”

The Supreme Court in 2021 allowed the government to disinvest its residual stake in HZL in the open market.

Earlier, Hindustan Zinc said that it will continue to engage with the Centre on its proposal to split the company into different entities, a top official said. The company had said it is still in talks with the mines ministry on the proposal and is trying to address some issues. The Vedanta group firm had announced plans to spin off its businesses into separate entities, including zinc and silver, to increase its market capitalisation.

Rao said, “Whatever report we have in front of us we are not convinced as a shareholder.” In this regard, HZL had engaged a leading advisory firm to study its plans to spin off the business. It had said the company’s board decided to undertake a ‘comprehensive review of its corporate structure for unlocking potential value’. Hindustan Zinc is engaged in zinc, lead and silver businesses.