Panel clears Rs 210-crore bid by Nandal Finance for Central Electronics

A ministers’ panel on disinvestment on Monday cleared a profitable bid of Rs 210 crore for promoting 100 per cent authorities fairness in Central Electronics Ltd (CEL) to Nandal Finance and Leasing Pvt Ltd. The Alternative Mechanism — comprising Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari and Minister of State (Independent cost) for Science and Technology Jitendra Singh — authorized “the highest price bid” for strategic sale of presidency stake in CEL.
“The next step will be to issue the Letter of Intent (LoI) and then sign the Share Purchase Agreement following which, the conditions precedent would need to be satisfied by the successful bidder, the company and Government. It is expected that the transaction will be completed during current FY 2021-22,” the Finance Ministry mentioned in a press release.
CEL recorded gross sales of Rs 245.99 crore in 2019-20, as in comparison with Rs 232.55 crore in 2018-19, as per newest obtainable information in firm’s annual reviews. It recorded web revenue after tax of Rs 3.13 crore in 2019-20, up from Rs 1.69 crore in 2018-19. The firm has a complete debt of Rs 42.96 crore at March-end 2020, as per the annual report. The firm can be carrying unpaid wage revision arrears for the 12 months 2007 amounting to round Rs 19 crore.
Set up in 1974, CEL operates in 4 key areas — railway security & signalling techniques, defence (strategic) electronics, photo voltaic photovoltaics, and safety surveillance options. Its paid up capital at March-end 2020 was Rs. 70.87 crore. This is the second strategic stake sale by the federal government after Air India this fiscal. After receipt of sealed monetary bids, a reserve worth of Rs 194 crore was mounted based mostly on valuations by the transaction adviser and the asset valuer, the federal government mentioned.