FSNL divestment: Govt receives multiple EOIs for strategic sale of MSTC subsidiary

The government has received multiple Expressions of interest (EOIs) received for Strategic Disinvestment of Ferro Scrap Nigam Ltd (FSNL)- a wholly owned subsidiary of MSTC Ltd, under the ministry of steel, announced Secretary, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) in a tweet on Monday.

Last month, the government had extended the last date for submission of bids for strategic disinvestment of FSNL , by a month to June 6, after inviting bids for FSNL privatisation in March. 

The government started the process of divesting its full shareholding in FSNL held through MSTC Ltd. in a strategic sale, where management control will also be given up in the profit-making central public sector enterprise.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs had in October 2016 given ‘in-principle’ approval to disinvest entire equity shareholding held through MSTC in FSNL, through strategic disinvestment and transfer of management control.

Shares of MSTL bounced back from lows after the news and was trading nearly 2% higher at ₹266 apiece on the BSE in Monday's session. FSNL is a Mini Ratna II CPSE, a 100% subsidiary of MSTC, incorporated in 1979 to provide steel mill services including processing steel mills slag for recovery of iron scrap and other metallics.

The company is a pioneer in metal scrap recovery and slag handling in India. It has nine steel plants in India, and specialises in the recovery and processing of scrap from slag and refuse generated during iron and steel making across different steel plants. It offers services for dig and haul of blast furnaces and steel melting shop slag at slag yards, processing of iron and steel skulls, mill rejects and maintenance scrap.

The strategic sale of FSNL is expected to conclude in FY23. The government has budgeted to collect ₹65,000 crore through CPSE disinvestments in 2022-23 fiscal.