Tata Power to acquire 30% stake in Indonesian coal firm Bumi resources for $1.3 bn

Tata Power will pay $1.3 bn to buy stakes in Indonesian PT Bumi Resources Tbk’s two coal mines. Tata Power will acquire 30% stakes in Bumi’s PT Kaltim Prima Coal and PT Arutmin Indonesia, two of Indonesia’s largest coal mines, and a related trading company. The two coal mines produced 53.5 mn tonnes of coal per year in 2006.

Tata Power will also buy 10 mn tonnes of coal from Kaltim Prima Coal for two proposed power projects with a capacity to generate a total of 7000 MW. The plants will be built on the west coast of India over the next five years.

Tata Power generates 2300 MW of power in the country and has been eyeing coal reserves in Australia, Indonesia and South Africa to tie up supplies for its proposed 15,000 MW-capacity expansion plan. Tata Power needs about 21 mn tonnes of imported coal. The company expects that 50% of the demand will be addressed through this deal.

Tata Power has three months to complete the transaction.

Read more in The Economic Times article.
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REL, Tata Power looking at Indonesian coal company Bumi
Tata Power to bid $1.6 bn for Indonesian coal mine Bumi Resources

Tata Power to bid $1.6 bn for Indonesian coal mine Bumi Resources

Tata Power is preparing to bid around $1.6 bn for a 30% stake in Indonesian coal company Bumi Resources in an effort to counter-bid Japanese company Mitsubishi’s offer of $1.32 bn. Mitsubishi has made the highest bid so far.

Tata Power has been asked to submit a binding bid by February-end. Mumbai-based Tata Power major may also look at hiking the bid, if found necessary.

Bumi had put a reserve price at $1 bn. Five bidders were short listed including the Anil Ambani-owned Reliance Energy and Kepco, a power major from South Korea.

Tata Power’s bid will put the valuation of Bumi resources at $5.2 bn. Tata Power has won the 4000 MW Mundra Ultra-Mega Power Project and has been actively scouting for imported coal at cheaper rates. It would need to import around 12 mn tonnes of coal annually starting 2012 for the project.

Read The Economic Times article.
Related Post: REL, Tata Power looking at Indonesian coal company Bumi

Tata Group not to exercise government call option; will hike VSNL stake via market purchase

The Tata Group will increase its stake in group company Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL) through market acquisitions instead of buying the government’s 26.12% residual stake in VSNL through the exercise of a call option.

The Tata Group has a combined effective shareholding of over 50% in VSNL. The government divested VSNL in 2001, with Tatas acquiring the majority stake in the company. However, the government was holding on to 26.12% stake in the company that gave it a controlling power and two nominees on its board.

Panatone Finvest (a Tata Group entity) holds 40.7% in VSNL, while Tata Sons has 8.51%, Tata Power holds 0.09% and Government of India holds 26.12%. Institutional investors and individuals hold the remaining stake in the company. The government was earlier ready to dispose of the residual stake, but had asked for a golden share in the company. A golden share means that the government would sell its 26.12 per cent stake in the company and in return ask for a single share with controlling stake. This was not acceptable to the Tatas.

Read the Business Standard article.

Tata Power, Kalpataru, Lanco to join Reliance Energy in bidding for Globeleq’s assets

Tata Power, Kalpataru, Lanco Infratech are some of the companies that have joined the race for British power major Globeleq’s assets. The Anil Ambani Group has already shown interest in Globeleq’s generating assets of 4500 MW in Asia and Africa valued at $2 bn (See Related Post). Lanco Infratech is Globeleq’s partner in the Sasan ultra-mega power project. Globeleq is searching for a buyer for its 70% stake in Sasan. Kalpataru, the Mumbai-based real estate and power transmission group, has a strong presence in North Africa with its transmission business and is said to be also in the race for the African assets.

Read the Business Standard article.

REL, Tata Power looking at Indonesian coal company Bumi

The Economic Times reports that power sector majors Reliance Energy and Tata Power are looking at buying an equity stake in Bumi Resources, an Indonesian coal firm, to meet the fuel requirements for their power plants in India. International companies such as Mitsubishi Corporation, South Korean power company Kepco and a Glencore subsidiary have also shown interest in Bumi. Bumi Resources is Indonesia’s largest coal producer and exporter with reserves of 52 mn tonnes, and has put a reserve price of $1 bn for around 30% stake. Acquiring coal mines would help the companies in assuring fuel supplies. Also, Indonesian coal has lower ash content and higher calorific value than Indian coal, resulting in higher power generation with less fuel.

Tata Group ups stake in TTML by 3.5%

The Tata Group has raised its stake in Tata Teleservices Maharashtra (TTML), its publicly listed telecom company. TTML provides telecommunication services in the states of Goa and Maharashtra. The group’s holding in the company has now gone up from 65.5% to 69%. Tata Sons has picked up the unsubscribed portion of TTML’s recent rights issue, thereby increasing its stake by 11%, from 7.86% equity to 18.68%. Tata Teleservices, the Tata Group’s flagship telecom company and the single largest shareholder in Tata Teleservices Maharashtra did not subscribe to the rights issue. Consequently its holding has now decreased from 46.98% to 39%. The other group companies including Tata Power, Tata Investment Corporation and Panatone Finvest have maintained their equity stake by subscribing to the rights issue.

Of late, the Tata Group has been quite in news for such corporate moves where it has raised stake in some group companies including Tata Tea and Tata Coffee. The total indirect foreign holding in TTML would also go down as Tata Teleservices, the parent company of TTML, has foreign equity holding from Singapore government’s private equity arm Temasek Holdings. The board of TTML had approved a rights issue of the size of Rs. 491.14 crores on January 12, 2007 through an aggregate of 288.91 mn equity shares at a price of Rs. 17 per share. The date of allotment of the share was January 17, 2007.

Read The Economic Times article.

IFC to invest $300 mn in Indian ultra-mega projects; in talks with Tata Power

World Bank private equity arm, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), is in talks with Tata Power for providing long-term debt funding, along with other major ultra-mega power projects. Funding would be in the range of $200-300 mn. IFC is also looking at other infrastructure projects, especially in the road sector.

IFC is also looking at picking up equity stake and upper Tier-II instruments in the banking sector. It has recently invested $150 mn in ICICI Bank’s upper Tier-II bonds and $100 mn in HDFC Bank’s similar issue, and is open to more such investments in banks which will help them meet their capital requirements.

IFC already has a big-ticket exposure of over $100 mn in Tata Steel and Cairn Energy. It also has an RBI approval for raising $1 bn-equivalent of rupee funds. IFC has the fourth-largest exposure to India after Russia, Brazil and Turkey.

Read the article in The Economic Times.