Why has BPCL been correcting so sharply in the last few days?

For the last few days the shares of BPCL have been weak after the government announced that it was postponing the privatization of BPCL by 2 months to September 30. This is third time the government has extended the deadline for bidding for the privatisation of BPCL and is a clear indication that the government is concerned about limited appetite in the current markets. Also, it may not want BPCL to clash with LIC IPO.

This correction became more pronounced as BPCL had rallied nearly 23% after global oil giants showed interest in the company. However, the decision to delay the divestment came as a major disappointment for markets. The government is planning to sell its entire 52.98% stake in BPCL to give a big boost to its divestment target of Rs.210,000 crore this year.

In India, there have been reports that Reliance Industries was a serious contender. However, RIL itself is trying to downplay its O2C business and trying to find an investor for the same. Some of the global players interested in BPCL include Aramco, ADNOC, Rosneft, and ExxonMobil even as Vedanta had also shown interest at a more reasonable price.