Tata Power eyes stake in South Africa’s Sekoko's Waterberg Coal

Tata Power, India's largest private power producer is in talks with South African energy company Sekoko Resources to acquire a 30-per cent stake in the Waterberg Coal Project in South Africa.

But Sekoko's JV partner Firestone Energy, an independent Australian exploration and development company said that it has rejected Tata Power's bid on the ground that the Indian firm's 480 million rand (approcimately Rs311.5 crore) offer for a 30-per cent stake had undervalued the Waterberg Coal assets in the Limpopo Province.

Firestone believes the Limpopo assets to be valued at around 1.6 billion rand, while Tata Power had made its offer based on a valuation of 1 billion rand.

''Following consideration of the offer the board of Firestone has decided to reject the offer for reasons including that in the opinion of directors the offer materially undervalues the value built up in the Project to-date, the company said in a statement.

The Limpopo joint venture is between Perth-based Firestone Energy and South Africa-based, black-owned energy and minerals company Sekoko Resources for developing the Waterberg Coal Project in the highly prospective Waterberg coalfield in South Africa.

The Waterberg Coal Project comprises eight farms in the JV totalling 7,979 hectares and is located approximately 240km northwest of Pretoria and 70km south of the border with Botswana.