NEW DELHI, Nov 9: Videocon Power has sold 36 per cent stake in the $ 1.2 billion North Madras Power project to British giant, National Power Company, a top company official said. The Indian company would still have largest stake at 38 per cent in the 1050 mw thermal project in Tamil Nadu, followed by 36 per cent of National Power and 26 per cent of multinational Asea Brown Boveri (ABB)."We are planning to be a major player in the power sector and we do not want to part majority of our funds in a single project. Therefore we diluted our stakes from 74 per cent to 38 per cent in this project," Videocon Power director Kuldeep Drabu told PTI.
Drabu, however, declined to give details on the financial arrangements of the deal. Videocon had selected national power, its third joint venture partner, as strategic investor who would be present in all managerial and operational functions, he said.
The Dhoots-promoted company will now have only 38 per cent stake in the project, which has a debt-equity ratio of70:30. ABB is the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor and also doing the operation and maintenance (O&M), he said adding the financial closure is likely to be achieved in next three months time.
Videocon had targeted the financial closure for the project by the end of October, but the delay in finalising escrow account with the Tamil Nadu State Electricity Board (TNEB) is likely to push it forward, Drabu said.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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