Promoter company Worldone to acquire JSPL's thermal power business

Jindal Steel & Power (JSPL) has sold off its thermal power business to Worldone, a company owned by the promoter group of JSPL.
 
JSPL has divested 96.42 per cent stake in Jindal Power (JPL) to Worldone.
 
Industry sources said the estimated deal size is close to Rs 12,000 crore, which includes Rs 6,500 crore debt, Rs 7,000 crore redeemable preference shares and Rs 3,015 crore equity infusion. It also includes Rs 4,400 crore of an old loan, which JPL had taken from JSPL.
 

“The divestment is in line with JSPL’s strategic objective to continuously reduce its debt, focus on its India steel business and significantly reduce carbon footprint by almost half as part of its ESG (environmental, social, and governance) objectives,” JSPL said in a statement.

 
It further said that the equity value is an all-cash offer of Rs 3,015 crore for 96.42 per cent stake in JPL. This includes 3,400 Mw coal-fired power plants in Chhattisgarh and other non-core assets owned by JPL.
 
JSPL has two coal-fired power plants in Raigarh and Tamnar totaling 3400 Mw. JPL had earlier tried to sell the units to JSW Energy but the deal did not close.
 
“This divestment is in line with our ESG objectives to be among the top 10 lowest Co2 emitting steel companies of the world. It is yet another step towards our vision to reduce debt substantially and create a robust balance sheet for our investors and stakeholders,” said V R Sharma, managing director, JSPL.

 
He said the company will now focus on steel production and double the output of its Angul steel plant to 12 million tonne per annum (MTPA). 
 
The divestment is subject to requisite approvals, including approval from shareholders of JSPL, lenders of JPL and JSPL, and such other statutory approvals.
 
JSPL added that Worldone is a private company owned by the promoter group. It manages and holds investments across various listed and unlisted companies.