The divestment ministry is likely to begin the due diligence for Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd by the end of June.

According to ministry officials, the process will be completed by the end of August. The ministry was also firming up the legal documents and other necessary details regarding the divestment of HPCL, they said.

The due-diligence exercise, which involves site visits and access to data room, will facilitate bidders in submitting their technical bids.

In the case of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd, the ministry hopes to appoint an adviser for piloting its public offer by mid-June.

It would call for presentations by merchant bankers by the end of May, the officials said.

The government, which holds a 51.01 per cent stake in HPCL, will offer 34.01 per cent stake along with management control in the company to a strategic investor.

Post-divestment, the Centre's stake in HPCL will come down to 12 per cent, with 5 per cent being offered to the employees.

The preliminary information memorandum issued by the divestment ministry on February 7 had set a minimum net worth criteria of Rs 2,500 crore (Rs 25 billion) for HPCL bidders.

Reliance Industries, Essar and several global majors, including Royal Dutch Shell, Kuwait Petroleum, Saudi Aramco, TotalFina and Chevron Texaco, had submitted expressions of interest for buying the government's stake in HPCL.

In BPCL, the government holds a 66.2 per cent stake. The government hopes to divest about 38.2 per cent in the company through domestic and international public offerings.

Post-divestment, its stake in BPCL will fall below 26 per cent and the company will cease to be a government undertaking.