India revived its plans to float BSNL in IPOAccording to a report, India revived its plans to float state-owned telecoms BSNL in the country’s largest-ever IPO. Government officials also said they were in talks to get trade unions to support the $10 billion deal, the report added. The report further quoted that Telecoms Minister Andimuthu Raja as saying that the board of BSNL had approved the IPO proposal and he had asked the firm to negotiate with the unions, who fear a public flotation would mean job losses.
Raja said, BSNL’s 304,000 employees have been offered 500 shares each. In contrast to this, Chief of the BSNL employees’ union rejected the government’s offer and said the opposition would continue. Union opposition and weak market sentiment, Indian shares have lost a quarter of their value this year, and IPO plans of about $4.1 billion have been deferred, could limit investor appetite for large offers, says analyst.
