Vedanta founder (Anil Agarwal) carries out due diligence of shipping firm, along with 3 other bidders. Anil Agarwal is said to be in the race to acquire The Shipping Corporation of India Limited (BSE:523598) (SCI) from the government, said multiple sources. The billionaire founder of Vedanta Resources Limited is believed to have carried out due diligence of India's biggest ocean carrier, along with three other bidding groups, said an industry executive and one of the sources, asking not to be identified.

BusinessLine could not independently verify whether Agarwal has bid under the banner of Vedanta Group or through the fund he has set up in partnership with Centricus Asset Management Limited, a London-based global investment firm focussed on advisory, private equity and asset management. The fund was created to invest in stake sale of public sector undertakings. Agarwal's participation in the privatisation of Shipping Corporation has not been reported in the media.

Vedanta did not respond to multiple e-mails seeking comment. RBSA Capital Advisors, the government's transaction advisor, did not respond to a mail seeking comment. Agarwal joins US-based Safesea Group, Hyderabad-based Megha Engineering & Infrastructures Limited, and London-based Foresight Group International UK LTD for the deal.

Megha Engineering & Infrastructures is backed by Interups, the New York-based fund led by Indian-born Laxmi Prasad. The Foresight consortium comprises the group's flagship company Foresight Offshore Drilling Limited S.A.; Belgium-listed shipping company Exmar NV (ENXTBR:EXM); and Dubai-based shipping company GMS DMCC. “Agarwal has emerged the dark horse in the fray,” said the source.

The Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM), the asset sale ministry has initiated the process of privatising Shipping Corporation of India by selling the government's 63.75 percent stake to a strategic buyer.