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Government seeks bids for Hindustan Organic stake sale

The government has invited proposals for the strategic sale of 32.61 per cent of money-losing Hindustan Organic Chemicals Ltd, an advertisement said on Friday.

The strategic buyer of the government stake will take over management control of the organic chemicals and petrochemicals maker, the advertisement said.

The government holds a 58.61 per cent stake in HOCL, which has plants in Cochin in Kerala and in Rasayani near Bombay in Maharashtra.

The sale would leave the government holding 26 per cent of the company.

Expressions of interest must be submitted by September 30, the ad said.

HOCL, a maker of basic organic chemicals such as phenol, acetone, aniline, nitroaromatics, reported a loss of Rs 362.7 million on revenues of Rs 3.488 billion in the past year to March.

In the first quarter to June, it posted a net loss of Rs 80.3 million on net sales of Rs 733.2 million.

HOCL's shares were trading up 6.3 per cent at Rs 8.50 on Friday on the Bombay Stock Exchange, while the Sensex was down nearly 1 per cent.

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