After much dilly-dallying, the Government on Monday decided to sell off its residual stake in Hindustan Zinc ltd (HZl), though there was much speculation about the route which would be taken to do so, even as sources privy to the developments in the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), indicated that the auction route could be the likely option.
If the Government goes for the auction route for selling of its residual stake in the company where the majority stake is held by Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta Group and the Government currently holds 29.5 per cent stake, then it could be a set back for the london-listed group as Agarwal has been keen on buying off the stake.
If the residual stake is auctioned, then other entities too would get an opportunity to buy it, sources said.
The stake sale is likely to fetch the Government around Rs 16,000 crore on the basis of the current prices of the company's shares.
According to sources, the CCEA meeting was also attended by the Attorney General G E Vahanvati, whose opinion the Mines Ministry had sought on the matter. Though on Monday the decision taken by the CCEA remained veiled in secrecy and Mines Ministry officials too could not be reached, sources said there was consensus among ministers on auction route.