Essar raises $2.05 bn from sale of ports, power assets; clears $25 bn debt of Indian banks

• Essar group companies completed the sale of two captive ports and a power plant to ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India, on Monday.
  
  
• The sale consisted of infra assets which include a 270 MW power plant and 25 MPTA port at Hazira in Gujarat; and a 12 MPTA port at Paradip, Odisha.
  
  
• With this sale, it has repaid $25 billion or ₹2 lakh crore, effectively making the group debt-free from Indian banks.
  

Essar Ports & Terminals (EPTL) and Essar Power (EPL) concluded the $2.05 billion (₹16,500 crore) sale of two captive ports and a power plant to ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India, on Monday.

The sale consisted of infra assets which include a 270 MW power plant and 25 MPTA port at Hazira in Gujarat; and a 12 MPTA port at Paradip, Odisha.

“Essar has concluded its asset monetisation programme and completed the debt repayment of $25 billion (₹2,00,000 crore) effectively making the group debt-free from Indian banks and financial institutions,” said Prashant Ruia, director, Essar Capital.

The group with assets across energy, mining and more had a massive debt of around ₹2 lakh crore in FY17, which it has been reducing by monetizing its assets across oil and steel sectors.

The current infrastructure assets sold are also captive to its steel business. “In a planned and strategic manner, we have monetised assets that we built over the last 30 years,” said Rewant Ruia, director, Essar Ports Terminals.

The company also claimed that the assets that Essar has monetized over the last five years have yielded a multifold return on investments.

Essar continues to have a significant presence and substantial operating assets in all its core verticals – energy, metals & mining, infrastructure & logistics and technology & retail. “The privately held group currently has revenues of $15 billion (around ₹1.2 lakh crore) and assets under management of $8 billion (₹64,000 crore) within and outside India,” the company’s press release said.

“We are now reinvesting in our existing operations and in building new assets, both in India and overseas, with more efficient, latest and carbon neutral new-age technologies, which will be sustainable,” said Rewant Ruia.