GMR Group in talks to sell energy assets in Chhattisgarh

Four months after selling its transmission projects to Adani Group, Bengaluru-based GMR Group is reportedly in talks to sell "significant" stake in its energy assets in Chhattisgarh. Potential buyers in discussions are Singapore's Sembcorp Industries and US-based Lone Star Funds and the enterprise value could be worth Rs 12,500 crore, reports Dealstreetasia.com, citing sources familiar with the development. 

If the talks fructify, it will be the Group's seventh divestment in the past 27 months.

GMR Chhattisgarh Energy Limited operates a 1,370 MW coal-based power plant located in Raikheda, Tilda block, in Raipur, and is operational since June last year. The company is a fully-owned subsidiary of GMR Energy Ltd and has a debt of Rs 8,290 crore on its books.

"While SembCorp has been in talks with GMR for a while now, the discussion with Lone Star Funds is a new development and is exploratory in nature," Dealstreetasia quoted one of the sources, a senior GMR Group executive. The website added the stake sale would be at an enterprise value of Rs 12,500 crore, quoting the sources.

In July,  GMR Energy Limited (GEL), a subsidiary of GMR Infrastructure Limited (GIL), entered into definitive agreements with Adani Transmission Limited (ATL) to sell GEL's stake in transmission projects — Maru Transmission Services Limited (MTSL) and Aravali Transmission Services Limited (ATSL) — to ATL for a total consideration of Rs 220 crore. 

Two months prior to the deal, GMR Group sold 30 percent stake in select assets of GEL to Malaysia's Tenaga Nasional Berhad for $300 million. 

"Tenaga's experience would further facilitate GEL in improving the performance of its operational assets and develop it's under development pipeline of hydro & renewable energy assets," it said in a statement while announcing the stake sale.

GMR Group operates three airports in New Delhi and Hyderabad in India and Mactan (Mactan Cebu International Airport) in the Philippines.

Over the past two years, the Group  has sold stakes in six projects for $5,832 million and reduced debt worth $1.1 billion. At Group level, its net debt stood at Rs 40,120 crore as of March 31, 2016.

GMR Infrastructure shares were trading at Rs 12.75 apiece at around 3.18 pm on Wednesday on the Bombay Stock Exchange.