Jindal Power gets ~7,401-cr revised bid

Worldone had earlier offered ~3,015 cr

Jindal Steel & Power (JSPL) has received a revised bid from Worldone for its thermal power arm — Jindal Power (JPL). The company is selling off JPL to reduce debt.

In April, JSPL announced the divestment of 96.42 per cent stake in JPL to Worldone for ~3,015 crore. Worldone is a private company owned by the promoter group that manages and holds investments across various listed and unlisted companies.

However, after feedback from several investors and shareholders, who pointed out that the deal value is lower than expected, JSPL asked for revised bids.

In a public statement on Sunday, JSPL said that it has negotiated a revised and improved binding offer from Worldone “accommodating all of the investor feedback received by the company.”

“Worldone will buy out all the equity shares and redeemable preference shares of JPL held by JSPL for a total consideration of approximately ~7,401 crore,” said the statement.

JSPL said out of the total bid value, ~3,015 crore will be payable by cash, and balance by way of assumption and takeover of liabilities and obligations of JSPL in relation to inter-corporate deposits and the capital advances extended by JPL to JSPL.

“In effect, the revised offer is now simple and straightforward where there will be no continuing financial linkage between JSPL and JPL, post the divestment. This was one of the key questions asked by JSPL investors during the feedback sessions held earlier and has been addressed comprehensively,” the company said.

JPL has two coal-fired power plants at Raigarh and Tamnar, totaling 3,400 Mw. Earlier, JPL tried to sell the units to JSW Energy but the deal did not close.

JSPL, however, said it has invited proposals to match the bid of Worldone.

“JSPL has also announced to undertake an additional transparent competitive bidding process open to the World at large (domestic & international) to see if the company can secure an even higher value than the present revised offer given by Worldone,” said the management in a public statement.

JSPL had earlier said that the divestment of JPL is part of its environmental, social, and governance (ESG) objectives to be among the top 10 lowest carbon dioxide emitting steel companies of the world.

After the divestment, JSPL said it will focus primarily on steel production and double the output of its Angul plant to 12 million tonne per annum.