Lenders of Jaypee Power seek bids for 30% stake dilution to recover debts

Lenders of Jaiprakash Power Ventures Ltd have sought bids to sell at least 30 per cent stake in the company to recover some of their dues.

The unidentified lenders have hired SBI Capital Markets and Ernst and Young for the sale, the document seeking bids from potential investors said.

The ICICI Bank-led group of 10 lenders hold 51.8 per cent stake in Jaiprakash Power Ventures Ltd (JPVL), which had a debt of Rs 14,916 crore, according to the company's annual report.

The buyer will become JPVL's single largest shareholder, the document said.

ICICI Bank holds 13.72 per cent stake in the company run by the Noida-based Gaur family, which is into real estate and other businesses as well. The Gaurs own 29.7 per cent of JPVL.

The company spokesperson did not return calls made for comments.

The company's projects with a total capacity of 2,220 mw and an 86.9 per cent stake in the 1980 mw Bara Thermal Power Plant are being set up by its subsidiary PPGCL. It also owns 74 per cent of Jaypee Powergrid Ltd (JPL) that developed a 214-km long power transmission project to evacuate power from the Karcham Wangtoo project.

Expression of interest (EoI) by investors has been invited by September 11, the bid document read.

The Joint Lenders Forum (JLF) of JPVL has "appointed SBI Capital Markets Ltd and Ernst and Young LLP to assist in sale of minimum 30 per cent equity stake held by the consortium lenders in the company to an investor (such that the new investor becomes the single largest shareholder in the company)", it said.

The lenders had acquired the equity stake pursuant to the Strategic Debt Restructuring (SDR) process in February 2017.

SDR allow banks to convert part of defaulters' debt to equity and take majority stakes. Lenders are then required to find new owners for the stakes.

JVPL owns a 400-mw Vishnuprayag hydroelectric project at Chamoli in Himachal Pradesh, 500-mw Bina thermal power plant in Madhya Pradesh and 1320-mw Nigrie Super Thermal Power Plant at Singrauli in Madhya Pradesh.

It had seen its net profit widen to Rs 750 crore in 2016 -17 from Rs 300 crore in the previous years after revenue dropped to Rs 2,850 crore in 2016-17, from Rs 3,900 crore in 2015-16.

The company had posted net profit of Rs 150 crore on revenues of Rs 3,950 crore in 2014-15.