Privatisation Commission Board endorses bid for Heavy Electrical Complex

A day after the completion of the bidding process, the Board of Privatisation Commission on Tuesday endorsed the highest bid price for Heavy Electrical Complex (HEC), which was the first entity-level strategic transaction since 2015. The PC Board meeting deliberated over one-point agenda and the board members welcomed the price offered by the successful bidder for the state-run entity. The bidding price of Rs99.99 per share or Rs1.9 billion to acquire 14.10 million shares (96.6pc stake) offered by IMS Engineering was also higher than the reserve or the reference price of Rs98.23 per share fixed by the Cabinet Committee on Privatisation (CCoP). The commission said that the reserve price was based on extensive diligence and financial modelling that incorporated demand outlook and supply constraints.