Promoters of Krishnapatnam Port Co. Ltd (KPCL)have approached potential investors to raise up to Rs1,500 crore in structured debt to buy out the stake held by private equity fund 3i Group Plc, two people aware of the development said.
| Promoters of Krishnapatnam Port Co. Ltd (KPCL)have approached potential investors to raise up to Rs1,500 crore in structured debt to buy out the stake held by private equity fund 3i Group Plc, two people aware of the development said.
The UK-based fund had invested Rs800 crore in KPCL for around 10% stake in 2009, but relations soured when the promoters allegedly refused to honour an agreement to buy back the stake at a pre-set price at a later date. 3i then moved the Company Law Board. A successful fundraising could end the acrimony, the people cited above said on condition of anonymity. “The CVR group (promoters of KPCL) has been in talks with several potential investors but discussions with Piramal Enterprises Ltd (PEL) have progressed well,” said the first of the two persons. “PEL is an existing investor in Navayuga group of companies, also part of CVR group founded by its Chairman C.V. Rao in 1986. PEL is also keen on the transaction since this could help it exit its investments in two Navayuga road assets—Navayuga Devanahali Tollway Pvt. Ltd and Navayuga Dichpally Tollway Pvt. Ltd,” he said. In 2013, Piramal Enterprises had invested around Rs550 crore in Navayuga Road Projects Pvt. Ltd, (NRPPL) the holding company which controls the two assets. “Significantly, KPCL also owns 49% stake in Navayuga Dichpally Tollway Pvt. Ltd and, given the ongoing dispute, PEL has found it difficult to exit the assets,” said the second person, adding that till recently, Navayuga was in talks to sell the two road assets to Essel Group but the transaction did not close because Essel was not comfortable buying the assets given the litigation involving KPCL. Source – www.livemint.com |
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