International consultants Hewitt Associates has said it is helping two foreign entities in bidding for public sector units put up for divestment and is engaged in due diligence for four private companies for mergers and acquisitions in financial, information technology and commodity sectors.

"We have two foreign firms that are interested in bidding for divestment of public sector units. We are helping them out in the due diligence," Hewitt's managing director Ravi Virmani told PTI in New Delhi.

However, he did not disclose the names for confidentiality but said with changed scenario in the country, it would be possible to meet the divestment targets.

With the Attorney General having given his opinion in favour of divestment of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited, which were acquired and nationalised through Acts of Parliament, the government is likely to meet the target of Rs 12,000 crore (Rs 120 billion) this fiscal, he said.

On mergers and acquisitions, Virmani said 3-4 entities in the private sector had approached Hewitt for due diligence. eclining to give details, he said the entities were from the financial, IT and commodity sectors.

Hewitt, with global business revenue of $1.8 billion as of September 2002, has established a 100 per cent subsidiary in India, which contributes less than 10 per cent to the whole kitty.

With offices in New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad, Hewitt Associates, established 10 years ago, is planning to open an office in Chennai by the end of June.

"At present, we are doing a feasibility study on opening an office in Chennai. If the result is positive, it will be possible to open the office by the first quarter of this fiscal," Virmani said.

Hewitt, a global outsourcing and consulting firm, offers its services from 86 offices in 37 countries, and has a 250-member team in India through its four offices. India's offices undertake the works for neighbouring countries also, he said.

Hewitt encompasses the entire spectrum of human resource consulting and outsourcing services and the core expertise includes corporate restructuring including mergers and acquisitions, initial public offerings, joint ventures, partnerships, privatisation, investment consulting, social insurance and healthcare services.