BSNL IPO plans stuck with employees

The employee unions of public sector telco BSNL, which obtained its board’s approval to go for an IPO, have rejected the company’s and communications minister A Raja’s offer to give all the three-lakh employees 500 shares at Rs 10 each.

this offer was made in exchange for the unions dropping their opposition to BSNL’s IPO — slated to be the largest in India. Mr Raja said that BSNL would list at Rs 300-400, pegging its valuation at $37-45 billion, which is not even half of the $100 billion valuation that the company’s management has been claiming since January ‘08.The BSNL board has cleared the proposal to offload up to 10% stake in the company.