Shriram's green energy arm to raise Rs 900 cr

Orient Group Power Company Ltd (OGPCL) set up by Shriram group’s Shriram EPC is planning to raise around Rs 900 crore through an initial public offering (IPO). The company has said, the IPO proceedings will be the equity portion of Rs 4,000 crore investment plan, in various green energy projects, across the country. Shriram EPC will be the first green power company to be listed.

It may be noted that in August last year Business Standard reported that the company is planning for an IPO and wrote about company’s investments plan.

Speaking to reporters in Chennai at the weekend, T Shivaraman, founder and executive vice chairman of OGPCL said, the company has lined up investments to the tune of around Rs 4,000 crore over the next 36 months to set up power production capacity of about 1,000 mega watt (Mw).

“The equity portion of the investment will be around Rs 1,200-1,300 crore, of which Rs 900 crore will be from the IPO and the remaining equity portion will be generated from the internal accruals,” he said.

It may be noted the company already has two private equity fund Bessemer Venture and Olympus Capital which have invested in the company. Shivraman ruled out any possibility of increasing additional money from these two private equity firms.

Of the 1,000 Mw of additional power, 77 per cent will be wind energy, 22 per cent bio-mass and 1 per cent will be hydro power, he added. As on March 31, 2010, the company has an installed capacity of 193 mega watt.

By end of the present fiscal it will be increased 340 Mw, by 2012 to 800 Mw and by 2013 to 1,008 Mw.

Of the total, for 450 Mw are committed, which means land acquisition is completed, approvals and grid connections are in place and also financial closure is done, he added.

Incorporated in 2006, OGPCL is in the business of building and operating renewable energy based power plants. It started generating power in April 2008 after it acquired the first biomass plant in Kotputli, Rajasthan. The company is one of the country’s largest independent operators and developers of renewable energy-based plants.