Pangea Capital To Invest $30M In Deepak Puri's Cobol Technologies

Solar power firm Cobol Technologies (owned by Deepak and Ratul Puri of Moser Baer), has raised $30 million(Rs 151 crore) from Pangea Capital. Bermuda-based Pangea is a mid-sized fund house with total assets under management in excess of $100 million.
The investment in Cobol has been made through Pangea Emerging Infrastructure Fund, which targets both listed and unlisted Indian infrastructure companies. It invests in companies engaged in sectors such as energy, oil & gas, roads, ports and telecom. Besides this Pangea also has an emerging markets focused fund called Pangea Emerging Markets Fund and Pangea Alternative Fund. According to an application submitted to foreign investment promotion board(FIPB), the top government body which clears foreign investment into the country, Cobol has raised the funds through the issue of fully convertible debentures (FCDs) to Pangea in three tranches. The FCDs are compulsorily convertible into equity shares by March 31, 2012.
The agreement between the two firms say that the number of equity shares to be issued after conversion of the FCDs to Pangea shall not exceed 49% stake in Cobol. Moser Baer chairman and managing director Deepak Puri and executive director Ratul Puri own 50% each of the solar power firm. The firm, started in August 2007, operates in the area of electricity generation and distribution and is currently setting up a 5 mega-watt (MW) solar power project in Uttar Pradesh. This marks an expansion of business in the non-conventional power sector for Deepak Puri and Ratul Puri whose flagship company Moser Baer has also branched out in solar photovoltaic business. Moser Baer has outlined plans to invest $3.2 billion in the solar business and is also setting up a solar power project in Rajasthan, which is expected to become the largest grid-connected solar farm in India.

Source: VCCIRCLE

Adani Power inks transmission deal with Siemens

Adani Power, a part of the Adani Group, today awarded Siemens, a Rs 1,380-crore contract for transmission of power from its Mundra power plant to Mohindergarh in Haryana. As per the contract, Siemens Ltd and Siemens AG will install a bipolar 500-kilovolt high voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission system of 2,500 MW capacity. "We have signed a contract of Rs 1,380-crore with Siemens to transfer power over a distance of around 1,000 km from our Mundra power plant to Mohindergarh.The HVDC technology used by Siemens is much superior than the traditional one," Adani Enterprises CEO (Power), R K Madan, told reporters here.
The dedicated HVDC power transmission is more cost- effective and energy-efficient compared to the conventional AC power transmission lines, he said, adding, "the transmission losses would also be lesser as power is transmitted in the form of direct current." The first phase of installation of HVDC transmission system would be completed by February 2011 and the second phase in July 2011, Madan said. Adani Power is setting up a 4,620 MW thermal power plant at Mundra with its first unit to be commissioned in May-June this year, he said.

Adani Power files for IPO; 3i's Investment in positive zone

Adani Power, a part of Gautam Adani-led business conglomerate with interests spanning from FMCG to infrastructure, has approached the market regulator SEBI with a revised IPO plan, estimated to raise more than Rs 2,000 crore. This is the second time Adani Power is planning to come out with an initial public offer (IPO), as its previous attempt was scuttled due to adverse market conditions. In its revised draft prospectus filed with SEBI, Adani Power has proposed to sell over 330 million equity shares of Rs 10 face value each, which would account for about 15% of the company's post-issue equity capital. While the price of the shares to be offered in IPO would be decided later, the company has said in the draft prospectus that it expects to utilise Rs 2,193 crore of net proceeds from the public issue to fund its power projects - Mundra IV in Gujarat and Tiroda in Maharashtra.

What about 3i's investment?

With this development, it is now confirmed that UK-based 3i’s investment in Adani Power remains in the positive zone. The average cost of acquisition for 3i is pegged at Rs 59.5/share. Adani Power seeks to raise Rs 2,193 crore through the issue which would translate into per share price of around Rs 65-70 given that the issue comprises 33.05 crore shares including 80 lakh shares reserved for the employees. Though 3i would be sitting on profit at this valuation, looking at the opportunity cost of the fund(had it been invested in some debt instrument) it could have earned a higher return.

Earlier, the private equity fund had invested Rs 900 crore in Adani Power in two tranches-- October 2007 and April 2008. The PE firm subscribed to 8.4 crore shares as a result of these two transactions which now stands at 15.14 crore shares due to a 4:5 bonus issue at Adani Power last year. 3i holds 8.22% stake in Adani Power before the IPO which would become 6.92% post issue.

Source: Business Standard, VCCIRCLE

PowerGrid to borrow $2 bn from World Bank, ADB

Central transmission utility PowerGrid Corp today said it will borrow $2 billion (about Rs 10,000 crore) from the World Bank and Asian Development Bank to part finance Rs 55,000 crore investment plans till 2012.
PowerGrid would get the global apex monetary body's loan of $1 billion by June, 2009, and that from ADB ($1 billion) in the next financial year 2010-11. These loans would be utilised for financing the company's projects over a period of 3-4 years.
"The World Bank loan would be approved by June this year, it is also the end of their (WB) financial year, and this amount would be utilised for projects till the end of the current plan and beginning of next plan (2012-17)" CMD PowerGrid S K Chaturvedi told PTI.
The ADB loan would be utilised for building the transmission link for the 4,000-MW Tilaiya Ultra Mega Power Project in Jharkhand, slated for commissioning in 2015, sources said.
This is part of company's plan to invest Rs 55,000 crore for setting up transmission lines in the country during the on-going XIth Five-Year Plan.
PowerGrid plans to augment its transmission capacity to 23,400 MW in the current fiscal, from the existing 19,800 MW and further enhance it to 37,000 MW within the plan period.

Companies line up for DLF’s wind business

Several Indian and overseas companies have shown interest in acquiring the wind power business of DLF Ltd, India’s largest real estate developer by market value, which is seeking to raise money by selling assets outside of its main business.
Adani Group, Essar Power Ltd, Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Ltd, Hong Kong-based CLP Group and the UK’s BG Group Plc have evinced interest in the unit, said a person close to the development who didn’t want to be identified. An executive at one of the firms independently confirmed that his company was interested in the business. He also didn’t want to be identified.

DLF plans to sell assets that are “non-strategic” to its main business of property development and reorganize debt as it weathers a downturn in the real estate market. The company expects to raise Rs2,000 crore by selling assets such as the wind power business.
DLF’s plan to divest its wind power generation business was reported on Tuesday by Business Standard newspaper, which cited unnamed people in the company as saying it intended to use the proceeds for a more related business.
DLF has net debt of around Rs13,000 crore, according to the company. At Rs24,750 crore, the company’s net worth (equity and reserves) as of 31 December 2008 was far higher than its net debt, according to a presentation DLF made to analysts.

DLF has hired audit and consulting firm Ernst and Young to help sell the wind power business, which has a capacity of 250MW, the person close to the development said. “These companies are doing due diligence to acquire the DLF wind power business. While CLP is looking at this opportunity through Roaring 40s, IL&FS’s wind-focused group is looking at this opportunity,” he added.
Roaring 40s is an equal joint venture between CLP and Australian power producer Hydro Tasmania. A DLF spokesperson declined to comment, saying the company is in its “silent period”—a time close to an earnings announcement when it is not allowed to make public statements. “Wind power is a vibrant and emerging sector and has a great potential,” said Vikas Kaushal, a partner at management consulting firm AT Kearney. “Globally, renewable (energy) is becoming a mainstream business. The short-term business outlook will have an impact on valuations. However, the fundamentals of wind business remain strong.” Rajiv Mishra, managing director of CLP Power India Pvt. Ltd, said, “We continue to remain interested in expanding our renewable portfolio in India. In the current financial crisis, there are a number of opportunities that have been brought to us and we are considering them.” Mint had on 12 January reported on CLP Group’s plans to take over power projects in the country that may be surrendered by developers, who find it tough to raise resources in a tightening credit market. Questions emailed to Adani Group and IL&FS remained unanswered, a BG spokesperson said in an email response that the company doesn’t comment on “market speculations”. “As a group, we keep evaluating growth opportunities, but as a policy we don’t comment on specific projects or speculation,” said an Essar Group spokesman.

IDFC Project Equity invests $68.5m in Indian power production firm

IDFC Project Equity, an Indian infrastructure equity investor, has put INR3.5bn ($68.5m) into Essar Power, a power production company headquartered in Mumbai. The capital will be used for ongoing expansion projects. Essar Power operates three power plants: two in Hazira with generating capacity of 515MW and 500MW each and one in Vadinar with a capacity of 125MW. The company is currently implementing four power projects which are under various stages of construction and are scheduled to be completed over the next three years, after which the total capacity of Essar Power would increase to approximately 6000MW. MK Sinha, president and CEO of IDFC Project Equity, said, "We find the power sector particularly attractive and are delighted to partner with a strong and credible group like Essar for our first large investment in this sector since the initial fund close in June 2008. What we particularly like about this investment is our partner's credible and measured project development and execution plans." Aditya Aggarwal, principal of IDFC Project Equity, added, "We believe that in these unprecedented times, Essar group is well positioned to capitalise on the opportunities in the Indian power sector and leverage its inherent large scale project implementation expertise. The management team at Essar Power is one of the most experienced and proactive in the sector today and we look forward to working with them." IDFC Project Equity manages India Infrastructure Fund (IIF). IIF has been set up as part of the 'India Infrastructure Financing Initiative', a collaborative effort between the government of India and Indian and global financial institutions to deploy $5bn in capital for infrastructure projects in India. IIF currently manages a corpus of $875m.

Khaleej Finance Invests In Secunderabad Based Power Co

Indian Private Equity Fund (IPEF) which is sponsored by Khaleej Finance of Bahrain is picking 41% stake in Secunderabad-based Shalivahana Green Energy (SGEL) for an estimated Rs 53.94 crore($10.5 million) valuing the firm at Rs 131 crore ($25.6 million). Launched in collaboration with Kuwait Investment Company (KIC), IPEF is a $200 million Sharia compliant Indian focused private equity fund. Besides power sector, IPEF invests in real estate, sugar, cement, iron & steel, pharma, telecom, IT, infrastructure etc targeting IRR of 25%. The fund looks at investment horizon of 3-5 years aiming to more than double the value of its investments in the investment period. According to the deal, IPEF will subscribe to around 34.32 million fresh shares of SGEL, making it the second largest shareholder of the firm. SGEL is into development and operation of renewable energy projects. Its business area include generation and distribution of green energy from biomass, hydro, wind, solar, tidal among other non conventional energy sources. SGEL also has six subsidiaries in which it holds stakes ranging from 26.8% (Pallavi Power & Mines) to 99.99% (Konark Power Project). Other subsidiaries include Rake Power, Shalivahana(MSW)Green Energy, Shalivahana Solar Energy and Shalivahana Wind Energy.
In the meantime, VCCircle learns that one of the existing investors-- Small Is Beautiful (SIB) fund-- is exiting its investments in SGEL. SIB is backed by investments from various domestic public sector banks and financial institutions. Its investment advisor is KSK Energy Ventures.
SIB is currently holding around 33.44% stake representing 14.42 million shares and is selling 6.4 million shares to a Singapore-based fund Pan Asia Infrastructure Asset Management Company Pte. The value of this deal, which would give 7.67% of the expanded capital (after issue to IPEF) to the Singapore based fund is not clear.
The Singapore fund was formed two year back to invest in infrastructure projects in Asia. It already has few other investments in India including Central UP Gas Ltd, Worlds Window Infrastructure & Logistics and IL&FS Waste Management & Urban Services.
The remaining shares held by SIB(around 8 million shares) is believed to be in the process of being sold to the other existing resident shareholders including promoters of SGEL. SGEL is part of Hyderabad-based Shalivahana Group which operates in areas of construction, power, education, eco-tourism and real, estate. Shalivahana Projects is the privately held flagship group company.

Crompton Greaves Invests Rs227 Crore in group power company

Electric equipment manufacturer Crompton Greaves will invest Rs 227 crore in another group company Avantha Power and Infrastructure Limited (APIL). Crompton Greaves will have 41% stake in the company post investment. The company will pick up shares of face value of Rs 10 at a book value of Rs 11.
APIL is an Avantha Group company, whose shareholders include Ballarpur Industries Ltd (BILT). APIL is engaged in the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity. It already has four captive power plants and is in the process of setting up two new independent power produces (IPP) plant with a capacity to generate 600 MW each, in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
Cromptom Greaves views the power generation, transmission and distribution business as a strategic opportunity for its future growth.
Since APIL is a group company, the investment proposal was referred to a committee of independent directors for evaluation. An external professional valuation of APIL was appraised by KPMG India Pvt. Ltd. The committee recommended the investment after assessing the prospects and potential of APIL and the features and the progrees made in APIL’s IPPs in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
Also, since it is a related party transaction the investment proposal was also reviewed by the Audit committee before it was sent to the board of directors for a consideration.
This is Crompton Greaves’ second acquisition in the past six months. The firms had, in September 2008, acquired US-based MSE Power Systems Inc and its group companies - MSE Engineering LLC & MSE West LLC for an enterprise value of $16 million.
The electrical equipment maker has been on an acquisition spree since the past two years as in June last year, the firm has acquired French firm Societe Nouvelle de Maintenance Transformateurs (Sonomatra) for about Euro 1.30 million and in 2007, it had acquired Ireland's Microsol Holdings Ltd for $35 million

eSolar invested $30 million in Acme group

U.S. solar power plant developer eSolar said Tuesday it has signed a $30 million deal with Indian technology company Acme Group that is part equity investment and part licensing agreement.
Under the deal, Acme will build up to 1,000 megawatts of solar-thermal power plants in India using eSolar's technology, and could work with other companies that want to build solar plants using eSolar's technology, the companies said.

Acme plans to start construction on the first 100 megwatts of a 250-megawatt project in India using eSolar's technology, according to privately held eSolar, of Pasadena, Calif.
"Acme's $30 million dollar commitment demonstrates their confidence in eSolar's technology," eSolar Chief Executive Bill Gross said in a statement. "We are committed to working with the very best partners, such as Acme, to scale deployment as quickly as possible around the world."
ESolar announced a separate deal last week with U.S. independent power producer NRG Energy Inc. (NRG), in which NRG will invest at least $10 million for an equity stake in eSolar and the right to build and own 500 megawatts of solar-thermal power plants using eSolar technology.
Among the solar-thermal power plants NRG, of Princeton, N.J., invested in is a 245-megawatt facility under development in Kern County, Calif. for which eSolar signed a power purchase agreement with Edison International (EIX) unit Southern California Edison.

ESolar is building a demonstration solar-thermal power plant in Southern California with technology that the company plans to use for its commercial- scale plants.

PTC buys 26% in Indian Energy Exchange

PTC India (formerly Power Trading Corporation of India), the country’s largest power trading firm, has taken 26% stake in the country’s first power exchange Indian Energy Exchange (IEX), which recently got regulatory approval. Tata Power (TPC), Reliance Energy (REL), Rural Electrification Corporation (REC), a consortium of Adani Enterprises (AEL) and IDFC are other stakeholders in IEX.

A power exchange is just like any other stock and commodity bourse, and acts as a platform for buying, selling and trading of electricity across India. At present, there is no such exchange in India and electricity is traded bilaterally at mutually agreed rates.IEX has been set up by Financial Technologies (India) and and Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) for trading electricity

Source: Business Standard)

Tata Power offloads 4.2% in PTC for Rs 50 crore

Tata Power has sold 4.2% in PTC India in the open market for about Rs 50 crore. Tata group’s power generation arm was one of the early investors in PTC, formerly Power Trading Corporation. The partial stake sale comes at a time when PTC has announced it will raise Rs 1,200 crore from the market to fund expansion plans. Existing investors would be required to pump in more money or see their stake come down.

Just before the initial public offering (IPO) of PTC in March 2004, Tata Power was the single largest stake holder in the company having about 16% stake. In fact, its stake was higher than the individual holdings of the four PSU promoters — NTPC, NHPC, PFC and PGC. Tata Power’s holding came down after the IPO to about 10% and till June 2007 it remained the single largest equity holder.

(Source: Economic Times )

TPC, REL eyeing stake in power exchanges

Tata Power Company (TPC) and Reliance Energy (REL) are in talks with commodity exchanges, MCX and NCDEX, to pick up equity stake in two power exchanges proposed to be set up by them.

While MCX and its partner in the proposed exchange, Power Trading Corporation (PTC), have offered TPC minority stake, REL sources confirmed that the company is being approached by NCDEX, but it has not taken any decision yet.

(Source: Economic Times)

NCDEX in JV with NTPC, NHPC to launch power exchange

Commodity bourse National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange Ltd (NCDEX) is setting up a power exchange in joint venture with leading power players like NTPC and NHPC at an estimated cost of Rs 15-20-crore.

Other partners for the exchange include Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd and Power Finance Corporation.

NCDEX has applied for necessary clearances from the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) and is hopeful of getting the same by September, he said.

The regulator was finalising the norms for setting up the exchanges, after which a formal approval for the power exchanges may be given. Power exchanges have been proposed by the government to develop a transparent market for power trading.

The CERC had in February issued guidelines for grant of permission to operators wanting to set up and operate a power exchange in the country. It proposed multiple power exchanges in the country.

(Source: Economic Times)

IFC to take 5.8 pc stake in Lanco subsidiary

International Finance Corp (IFC), the private sector arm of World Bank, will take 5.84 per cent stake in Lanco Infratech's subsidiary - Lanco Amarkantak Power Pvt Ltd - for $8 million (about Rs 32.5 crore).