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    SKS Power's lenders extend due diligence deadline

    Synopsis

    More than a dozen bidders including large Indian conglomerates such as Reliance Industries, Adani Power, power sector companies Torrent Power, Jindal Power Ltd, Hindustan Powerprojects, Sarda Energy & Minerals and Jindal India Thermal, and bad loan aggregator Phoenix ARC have expressed interest in taking over the company.

    powerAgencies
    NTPC is currently running the two units of 300 MW each for a fee on special government directives aimed at overcoming power shortages.
    Lenders to the Chhattisgarh-based distressed electricity producer SKS Power Generation have extended the due diligence deadline by prospective buyers for the second time to November 25 as bidders needed more time to thoroughly analyse the plant, said people familiar with the process.

    “The 600 MW plant is a rare running plant available with all linkages in place so bidders want to make sure they put their best foot forward and hence more time has been given,” said one of the persons, who did not wish to be identified.

    This is the second extension to the bidding deadline. ET had reported the extension of the deadline to October 17 in its September 14 edition.

    Lenders have, however, made it clear that this is the last extension of the deadline for bids.

    More than a dozen bidders including large Indian conglomerates such as Reliance Industries, Adani Power, power sector companies Torrent Power, Jindal Power Ltd, Hindustan Powerprojects, Sarda Energy & Minerals and Jindal India Thermal, and bad loan aggregator Phoenix ARC have expressed interest in taking over the company.

    “Some bidders like state-run NTPC, which is a strong candidate to take over the company, need some specific government permissions to make a binding bid which takes some time. All in all, demand for the plant remains strong and close to a dozen companies have already visited the plant as part of their due diligence," said a second person.

    NTPC is currently running the two units of 300 MW each for a fee on special government directives aimed at overcoming power shortages. An operational power plant with all approvals is place is a precious commodity in power deficit India, which has made bankers confident of a handsome recovery from this sale.

    The plant has 25 years of fuel agreement with South Eastern Coalfields Ltd, a Coal India arm with a railway line directly transporting coal to the plant.

    It also has power purchase agreements with Rajasthan, Bihar and Chhattisgarh.

    SKS Power Generation is undergoing a corporate insolvency and resolution process since April 2022 and owes two lenders, led by Bank of Baroda, a total of Rs 1,890 crore.

    The plant had stopped production earlier this year after Hong Kong listed owner Agritrade Resources Ltd failed to keep the plant running due to financial difficulties of its own. Agritrade Resources had bought the plant in 2019 in a one-time settlement with a group of lenders led by State Bank of India.

    Process advisor BoB Capital Markets and resolution professional Ashish Rathi did not reply to ET’s emails seeking comment.



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    (What's moving Sensex and Nifty Track latest market news, stock tips and expert advice, on ETMarkets. Also, ETMarkets.com is now on Telegram. For fastest news alerts on financial markets, investment strategies and stocks alerts, subscribe to our Telegram feeds .)

    Download The Economic Times News App to get Daily Market Updates & Live Business News.

    Subscribe to The Economic Times Prime and read the Economic Times ePaper Online.and Sensex Today.

    Top Trending Stocks: SBI Share Price, Axis Bank Share Price, HDFC Bank Share Price, Infosys Share Price, Wipro Share Price, NTPC Share Price

    ...more
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