Adani Power buys Avantha's Korba unit for Rs. 4,200 cr.

Billionaire Gautam Adani-led Adani Power Ltd. (APL) has entered into an agreement with Avantha Power & Infrastructure Ltd. to acquire its 600 MW Korba West power plant in Chhattisgarh for Rs. 4,200 crore.

This is the second large power sector buy for Adani in the last three months; it bought debt-laden Lanco Infratech's 1,200 MW Udupi power unit for Rs. 6,000 crore in August.

According to reliable sources, Avantha Power decided to sell the plant to de-stress its balance sheet.

While analysts have welcomed the 'long-call' taken by APL by acquiring the Korba unit, the company's high debt remains a challenge.

As on March 2014, APL had a debt of Rs. 47,147 crore.

APL paid Rs. 1,365 crore interest for the September quarter, up from Rs. 1,159 crore in the previous three-month period. On a consolidated basis, the company paid about Rs. 4,010 crore interest in 2013-14.


HBL