Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC)- India’s state-run oil & gas firm, Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) and the government of Tripura, a state in northeast India, are reportedly looking to acquire the INR 3,804 crore stake Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Ltd (IL&FS) owns in ONGC Tripura Power Co. Ltd (OTPC).
Apparently, the interested parties already hold stakes in OTPC with ONGC owning a majority 50% share while GIP and the government of Tripura hold 23.5% & 0.5% respectively. The shareholders now intend to leverage the existing shareholder pact to acquire IL&FS’s stake in OTPC.
According to reliable sources, the terms of the current shareholder pact state that IL&FS should transfer its shares to the shareholders under conditions of distress, which mandate it to sell its shares at a 20% discount on the share’s INR 10 face value.
Moreover, if the proposed deal goes through without a hitch, then the 26% stake owned by the debt-laden non-bank financial institution would be divided among the interested parties proportionally.
Sources further mentioned that according to the terms of the existing shareholder agreement, present shareholders possess the right to first refusal. The government of Tripura along with ONGC and Global Infrastructure Partners have already written to IL&FS asking that the stake be acquired by them.
The sources added that a mutual discussion was conducted on the issue among the current stakeholders and the view was accordingly communicated to IL&FS. While the entity’s shareholders have communicated their interest to IL&FS, they are yet to receive an official response.
For the record, the ONGC Tripura Power Company Ltd (OTPC) project is responsible for running the Palatana thermal power project in Tripura. It is the first power plant for ONGC in India and supposedly, it stands as the biggest plant in Northeast region of the country.
Source Credit:https://www.cnbctv18.com/energy/ongc-gip-and-tripura-government-eye-ilfs-stake-in-otpc-says-report-3391771.htm