3 firms to advise CIL on DPSC

Coal India Limited (CIL) has zeroed in on 3 consultants - PwC, Ernst & Young and Crisil - to do the financial due-diligence for taking over 53.17 per cent stake in the West Bengal-based power utility Disergarh Power Supply Corporation (DPSC).

Bids for the 53.17 per cent stake in DPSC would close on November 21. DPSC recently made the offer of stake sale.

CIL insiders said that one of the three consultants would be chosen for the financial due diligence within October 25.

DPSC was the sole supplier of power to over 100 mines of Coal India subsidiary Eastern Coalfields Limited (ECL).

N C Jha, director (technical) of CIL, said, “We have been shortlisted for the stake sale and takeover. Though other companies have also applied, we seem close to the deal. We plan to use DPSC as ECL’s captive unit in future to ensure uninterrupted electricity even during troubled times.”

The public sector coal giant aimed to set up two 1000MW plants in Chhattisgarh under the South Eastern Coalfield (SECL) area with Chhattisgarh State Electricity Board (CSEB) and also in the Northern Coalfields (NCL) Area in Singrauli in Madhya Pradesh with Neyveli Lignite Corporation (NLC).

CIL will take over stakes of Life Insurance Corporation (30.61 per cent) and other insurance companies totaling 42.56 per cent, equity from financial institutions and banks of 0.12 per cent, and shares from bodies corporate like Andrew Yule totaling 7.12 per cent.

DPSC’s major stake holders were DESCON (32.31 per cent), LIC (30.61 per cent), United India Insurance (11.36 per cent), Andrew Yule and Company (7.12 per cent), Environ Energy-Tech Services ( 6.14 per cent), Bengal Coal (4.70 per cent) and Katras Jherriah Coal Company Limited (3.38 per cent), comprising 95.62 per cent of 4,048,249 shares.

Public shareholding in DPSC in the institutional and non-institutional categories was 42.68 per cent and 57.32 per cent respectively. Of this, bodies corporate held 47.67 per cent, insurance companies 42.56 per cent, PSUs 7.12 per cent with a total of around 1066 shareholders including individual holding up to and excess of 1 lakh shares comprise 2.51 per cent of the holdings.

DPSC supplied power to coal mines, railways, industries, townships, glassworks and hospitals in the Asansol - Raniganj zones between Andal and Barakar comprising licensed area of 618 sq km. Its operating voltage was 11 kv, 3.3 kv and 550 v with a total 800 overhead circuit km range.

Its underground cable network was about 200km. DPSC had generating stations at Chinakuri (30MW) and Disergarh (15MW) with purchase points at J K Nagar, Luchipore, Disergarh, Bankola and Seebpore.

It was incorporated in 1919 and got license for generation and distribution in 1932.