Search the Internet          Tips  Sites: Finance, Investment

Totalfina exits DPC race; only 5 pay $100,000

French energy major Totalfina Elf announced on Friday that it would not participate in the sale of 85 per cent offshore equity of bankrupt Enron's Dabhol Power Company.

"The board has decided not to express interest in buying a stake in DPC nor has the company signed the confidentiality agreement," Totalfina Elf chief executive Jean Cluade Breton said in Mumbai.

He expressed his inability to explain the reason behind the energy major's step and said it was the multinational's global policies not to comment on details of their international decisions.

Totalfina's departure has now opened the exit route of other parties, which have submitted their expression of interest to Industrial Development Bank of India led consortium of Indian lenders on February 7.

Incidentally, not all the interested companies have complied with the payment of the mandatory $100,000.

"We have so far received the earnest amount from the Tatas, Gaz de France, Reliance Industries, BSES and Shell," a senior financial institution official said, adding they were yet to hear from British Gas and Gas Authority of India Ltd regarding the signing of the confidentiality agreement and the related payment.

"Technically only five companies have qualified for the due diligence process," he said.

Both domestic and international lenders will meet managing director Mohan Gurunath and others in Singapore on February 20 and 21 to finalise dates for due diligence.

The meeting would finalise the number of days to be alloted to each qualified institutional bidder and to carry out their research and study for making a final bid for the idle 2,184 MW power plant in Guhagar, Maharashtra.

"At the outset, we are planning to allot four to six days to each party to carry out their due diligence in the yet to be set up data room in London," the official informed.

He said the Indian lenders were yet to learn the 'ground reality' over the status of the data room from DPC officials.

The Singapore meeting was exclusively between DPC lenders and no prospective bidder would be involved in the process.

On Totalfina's exit the official observed that the French utility did not seem to be comfortable with the 'watertight' schedule set up by lenders right from signing the agreement to the proposed final bids.

The official said all the companies had submitted EOIs separately and qualified for the bidding process with a minimum net worth of $200 million and requisite experience in managing and operating both the power and LNG plants.

In case of multiple bids, DPC, which is the ultimate decision making authority, would shortlist the parties based on their EOIs after due diligence, he added.

Financial institutions led by Industrial Development Bank of India have an exposure of over Rs 62 billion in the Enron-promoted project and have over Rs 50 billion credit locked in it.

Houston-based bankrupt Enron Corp currently holds a majority 65 per cent stake in the project while 15 per cent is with Maharashtra State Electricity Board. The remaining 20 per cent rests equally with Bechtel and GE.

YOU MAY ALSO WANT TO READ:
The Enron Saga
The Rediff Budget Special
Run-Up To The Budget