Suzlon seeks new payment schedule for REpower buy

Suzlon Energy, the country's biggest maker of wind-turbine generators, said it's in talks with Martifer SGPS to set a new payment schedule for buying its 22.4 per cent stake in REpower Systems.

"Suzlon and Martifer are currently in discussions to arrive at a mutually acceptable payment schedule,'' Ahmedabad-based Suzlon said in an e-mailed statement today.

The Indian company had agreed to complete the purchase of Martifer's stake in REpower for ¤270 million ($344 million) by December 15, Oliveira de Frades, northern Portugal-based Martifer said in a regulatory filing on September 1. Suzlon acquired REpower for better access to the European markets.

The Indian company has provided Martifer with a bank guarantee valid until May 2009. Suzlon plans to use its own cash for the purchase and may raise some debt to buy the stake, Chairman Tulsi Tanti said last week. Suzlon last month suspended a rights offer to raise Rs 1,800 crore ($370 million) to buy the additional stake in REpower after a slump in stock markets across the world.

The Indian company owns 66 per cent of REpower and 89 per cent of the voting rights in the German company, including those of Martifer.

Suzlon reported on October 31 a group loss in the second quarter after currency fluctuations and expenses on blade failures in the US. The loss in the three months ended September 30was Rs 130 crore ($26 million), while it reported a profit of Rs 374 crore a year earlier, the company said.