Adani Power buys Avantha's plant for Rs 4,200 crore

Striking another major deal in less than four months, Adani Power on Monday entered into a binding agreement with Gautam Thapar-led Avantha Group to buy out its 600 MW Korba West unit for more than Rs 4,200 crore (Rs 42 billion).

This is the second acquisition by Adani Group since it bought the Rs 1,200 MW coal-fired Udupi plant from the debt-laden Lanco Infra for Rs 6,000 crore (Rs 60 billion) in August.

Korba West Power owns a completed 600 MW coal-based power plant at Korba and an expansion phase in progress. The deal makes Adani Power the largest private sector power utility in the country with an installed capacity of 11,040 MW, Adani Group said in a statement issued from Ahmedabad.

While Adanis did not reveal the deal size, Avantha Group in a statement issued from New Delhi said the deal is valued in excess of Rs 4,200 crore (Rs 42 billion).

With the Korba buy, the installed base of Adani Power will increase to 11,040 MW. The company has set a target of 20,000 MW capacity by 2020.

Commenting on the deal, Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani said, "This is the time for consolidation in the power sector, and Adani Power has taken the lead in acquiring power assets which are strategic fit to group businesses and potentially at the lowest end of the cost curve.

"This acquisition consolidates our pan-India presence and further reaffirms our belief in the reforms processes underway in the power and coal mining sectors.

"This Korba acquisition expands our footprint particularly in the coal mining belt and we are bullish of expanding our presence further. We are committed towards achieving our target of 20,000 MW by 2020," Adani said.

He added that his company will endeavour to expand the capacity of Korba unit expeditiously, leveraging its project execution capabilities.

Adani Power is also committed to seize further opportunities for capacity addition and provide much needed energy security of India, he further said. Macquarie Capital was the sole advisor to the transaction.

Excluding the Korba power deal, Adani Power has 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. It has a 660 MW plant ready for commissioning at Tiroda in Maharashtra shortly.