The government has received an undisclosed number of financial bids for the sale of its stake in ailing helicopter operator Pawan Hans, moving the divestment process to the last stage.

“The financial bids for Pawan Hans divestment have been received by the transaction adviser. The process now moves to a concluding stage,” Dipam secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey tweeted.

He, however, did not disclose the number of bidders.

The government is selling its entire 51 per cent stake in Pawan Hans. State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), which holds the remaining 49 per cent, has also offered its entire shareholding in the company for sale along with the government stake.

Set up in 1985, Pawan Hans has a fleet of over 40 helicopters and over 900 employees, less than half of them on permanent roles. It provides helicopter services to support the exploration activities of ONGC and to India’s Northeast.

For 2019-20, the company reported a net loss of Rs 28 crore, lower than Rs 69 crore in the previous year. As on March 31, 2020, its authorised capital stood at Rs 560 crore.