New Delhi: Adani Power, owned by billionaire Gautam Adani, said on Monday it purchased the Avantha Group’s Korba West Power Co. (KWPCL) for Rs 4,200 crore. The wholly owned subsidiary of Avantha Power owns a 600 megawatt coal-fired plant in Chhattisgarh. KWPCL is building an additional 600 MW of capacity. An Avantha Group spokesperson confirmed the signing of the deal with Avantha Group, owned by billionaire Gautam Thapar.
“This acquisition consolidates our pan-Indian presence and further re-affirms our belief in the reform processes underway in the power and coal mining sectors,” Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani said. “The acquisition of KWPCL expands our footprint in India, particularly in the coal mining belt of India.”
ET was the first to report the deal on November 23. “This is a time for consolidation in the Indian power sector and as a leading private power producer Adani Power has taken the lead in acquiring power assets which are a strategic fit to the group’s business and potentially at the lowest end of the cost curve,” Adani said. “We are committed towards contributing towards India’s growth and confident of achieving our target of generating 20,000 MW by 2020.”
Adani Power is India’s largest private sector power developer with an operational capacity of 9,240 MW, comprising 4,620 MW at Mundra in Gujarat, 3,300 MW at Tiroda in Maharashtra and 1,320 MW at Kawai in Rajasthan. The installed capacity of Adani Power will increase to 11,040 MW with the acquisition of the soon-to-be-completed 1,200 MW Udupi plant and KWPCL. Cash-starved Avantha Group is set to exit from the power generation business.
“After the deal with Adani Power, Avantha group is likely to divest its second plant in Jhabua Power in Madhya Pradesh, which is building 1,260 MW thermal capacity in two phases of 600MW,” a person familiar with the development told ET. Avantha Group, which has interests in electrical goods, engineering and paper, has been trying to reduce debt by selling assets. Earlier, Avantha demerged the consumer goods business of Crompton Greaves and sold its chemicals business to Aditya Birla Chemicals.
