A month after JSW Energy terminated its plans to acquire Ind-Barath Energy (Utkal) Ltd, Chennai-based Star Thermal Power Ltd has submitted a Rs 1,700 crore offer to take over the incomplete plant in Odisha. Star Thermal offered up to Rs 1,200 crore for the pit-head 700 MW Odisha-based thermal power plant, which is going through the insolvency process at National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). Besides, it agreed to infuse Rs 500 crore within a year to complete the construction of the plant.
Star Thermal's offer is 30 per cent higher than that of JSW Energy's offer. The under-construction power plant has coal linkage from Mahanadi Coalfields, a Coal India subsidiary, and PPAs signed with Odisha and Tamil Nadu governments.
Ind-Barath Energy was admitted to the Hyderabad Bench of the NCLT and earlier both JSW Energy and Vedanta were in the race to acquire the insolvent firm. JSW Energy had agreed to make an upfront payment of Rs 850 crore for the asset. Last month though, it invoked the material adverse change (MAC) clause.
Thereafter, JSW Energy has served a notice to the resolution professional and consortium of creditors to terminate the resolution plan and said that in the intervening period of 15 months since the submission of resolution plan, a material adverse change event as defined by the resolution plan has occurred.
According to Star Thermal website, the promoters are natives of Tamil Nadu and they were partners in a Dubai-based $6 billion conglomerate, which is involved in execution of various infrastructure projects, especially in power generation, transmission and distribution. They were engaged in international commodity trading, desalination projects, civil construction and shipping in UAE. They have also executed World Bank projects in Bangladesh and Thailand.