There have been no talks on buyback of the government’s shares in the integrated zinc producer Hindustan Zinc Ltd (HZL), its CEO Sunil Duggal said today.

“There has been no discussion on this topic (share buyback),” he told reporters here, adding that the company does not respond to market speculation.

Duggal was responding to reports that the company led by billionaire Anil Agarwal is looking to buy back shares from the government.

In 2002, the government had sold 26 per cent stake in HZL for Rs 445 crore to billionaire Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta. The firm also acquired 20 per cent stake from the public.

In 2003, it had again acquired an additional 18.92 per cent in exercise of call option clause in shareholders agreement between the government and the firm. Now, the government owns 29.54 per cent in HZL.

In August, Mines Minister Piyush Goyal had said the government has no “strategic interest” in holding minority stake in HZL.

“My approach is that we have no role in it and I don’t see any role for us to keep that minor stake,” Goyal told PTI.

Agarwal, the chairman of mining giant Vedanta Resources, has time and again evinced interest in acquiring the government’s remaining stake in HZL and aluminium maker Balco.

In March this year, Agarwal had said stake sale of the government’s remaining share in HZL and aluminium maker Balco can fetch the company Rs 25,000 crore.

Related Topics