Tata Power to buy stake in UK’s InterGen from GMR Infra
09 Sep 2010
Tata Power Co, India's largest private power producer, is in talks to acquire a majority stake in the UK-based power generator InterGen NV from GMR Infrastructure, which has a 50 per cent stake in that company, with a view to scaling up its global presence.
''We are talking to several companies including InterGen for a possible acquisition,'' chairman Ratan Tata told shareholders at the company's 91st annual general meeting in Mumbai on Wednesday.
InterGen, with generation capacity of over 6,300 MW, has power plants in UK, Netherlands, Mexico, Philippines and Australia, according to its website. Bangalore-based GMR Infrastructure, which had bought its stake in InterGen from a fund owned by American International Group for $1.1 billion in 2008, has been looking for a buyer, as it is not satisfied with the growth of the company. Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan holds the remaining stake.
Other bidders for the InterGen stake include China's biggest electricity producer, Huaneng Group.
Tata Power also plans to invest Rs70,000 crore to reach its targeted installed capacity of 25,000 MW by 2017, Ratan Tata said at the AGM. The company has an operational capacity of 2,977 MW, the largest for a private sector generator in the country.
The company recently bagged a 240 mw geothermal power project in Indonesia in consortium with Australia's Origin Energy and PT Supraco Indonesia.