Blackstone invests Rs 1350 crore in Moser Baer arm
The US-based private equity fund Blackstone has invested Rs 1350 crore in Moser Baer Projects Private Ltd (MBPPL). The investment will fund MBPPL’s plans of commissioning 5,000 Mw of power generation capacity 4,000 Mw of thermal power, 500 Mw of solar power and 500 Mw of hydro power over the next six years in India and Germany. The group’s 1,200 Mw Annuppur Project-1 in Madhya Pradesh, which has achieved financial closure, is the most advanced one.
MBPPL has a 7.4 Mw operating solar farm asset in Germany and a 5 Mw solar power project under construction in Tamil Nadu. Besides, the company will invest in the country’s largest solar power plant, a 45 Mw one, in Gujarat, whose financial closure is expected within a month.
Commenting on the deal, Akhil Gupta, chairman and managing director of Blackstone Advisors India Private Limited, said: “We have been studying the Indian power sector for over a year. We elieve that MBBL have a good track record of completing large projects on schedule and on budget. In addition, their strategy of developing assets across multiple fuel sources is compelling.”
Elaborating on the partnership, Deepak Puri, founder, MBPPL said: “Needless to emphasize the criticality of India’s energy requirement which would require massive investments to sustain its high growth trajectory. Since the government’s resources are limited, the private sector has an important role to play.”
The PE fund has so far invested US $1.25 billion in 12 Indian companies. It recently secured a 12.5 per cent stake in Monnet Power Company (MPCL) for US $60 million. It also has investments in Indian companies like newspaper firm Jagran Prakashan, garment maker Gokaldas Exports, Allcargo Global Logistics, Nagarjuna Construction and Emcure Pharmaceuticals. Blackstone has said that infrastructure development continued to remain one of its key investment themes in India.
The value of the transaction is $300mm (~Rs. 1350 Crs), not $13.50 bn…
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