Govt plans outright sale of TCIL; to appoint i-bankers by Dec

NEW DELHI: The Disinvestment Department is planning an outright sale of ailing Tyre Corporation of India (TCIL) and will appoint merchant bankers by mid-December. "The Department of Disinvestment (DoD) plans to engage an advisor to advise and manage TCIL's outright sale process successfully," a senior government official told PTI. The department aims to finalise appointment of merchant bankers by mid-December, the official added. West Bengal-based TCIL, engaged in manufacturing and marketing of automotive tyres, is wholly-owned by the government. Since 2002, the company which is awaiting revival from the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction ( BIFR) has been doing 100 per cent jobbing work for other tyre manufacturers like Ceat, Birla Tyres due to shortage of working capital. "The Advisor will be required to undertake tasks related to all aspects of the outright sale of TCIL like advising the government on the timing and the modalities of the outright sale process among others," he added. The Department of Heavy Industry in July 2011 had prepared a proposal for a complete sell-out of TCIL, as it has been reporting losses for the last several years. As at the end of March, 2011, the paid-up equity capital of TCIL stood at Rs 29.63 crore. The government holds 100 per cent stake in the company. In 2007, Parliament had cleared the strategic sale of TCIL. The company had turned sick in 1992 and was then referred to the Board for Industrial and Financial Restructuring (BIFR).