Adani Power, Jindal Power and Vedanta Ltd are among a dozen companies that have expressed interest in acquiring IL&FS Tamil Nadu Power Corporation (ITPCL), one of the biggest assets under the IL&FS portfolio with debt of nearly Rs 10,000 crore.
IL&FS, as part of its resolution process, had recently invited expressions of interest (EoIs) to acquire a 92% stake in ITPCL held by IL&FS Energy Development Company (80%) and the group holding company (12%).
This asset has two coal-based power plants with 1,200 MW capacity in Cuddalore with the potential to add nearly 2,000 MW more, a captive jetty adjacent to the plant, and a captive coal mine in Indonesia.
Adani Power and Jindal Power are also competing against each other for Lanco Amarkantak, which has two units of 300 MW operational and two units of 600 MW under construction. Vedanta Ltd had last year acquired a 1,000 MW coal-based thermal power plant for ?1,440 crore under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).
Spokespersons of Adani, Vedanta and Jindal Power did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Other bidders for ITPCL include some non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), alternative investment funds (AIFs) and power companies.
An IL&FS spokesperson said assessment of bidder eligibility is in progress. After that, the suitors will do due diligence. This will be followed by the submission of binding bids, lender approvals, and board approvals, which must all be completed before finalising the transaction.
The entire sale process is expected to span 3-6 months and will depend on the time taken for the required approvals.
As part of the IL&FS restructuring process, ITPCL recently completed the restructuring of its outstanding sustainable debt of nearly ₹4,700 crore and is in the process of filing an application with the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) for conversion to a green entity, which would make it capable of meeting all its debt obligations.
IL&FS Group recently completed a disbursal of ₹2,150 crore to senior secured lenders in ITPCL.
Source: Economic Times