Essar concludes $2 bn sale of port, power infra assets to AM/NS

Ruia family-run Essar group on Monday said it has concluded the sale of captive ports and power assets located at Hazira in Gujarat and Paradip in Odisha to Arcelor Mittal Nippon Steel India Ltd (AM/NS) for USD 2.05 billion (about Rs 16,500 crore).

With the sale, Essar has completed its asset monetisation programme to effectively become debt free.

"Essar Ports & Terminals Ltd (EPTL) and Essar Power Ltd (EPL) today concluded the USD 2.05 billion sale of captive ports and power assets located in Hazira and Paradip to AM/NS," it said in a statement.

The sale consisted of infra assets including a 270 MW power plant and 25 million tonnes per annum port at Hazira, Gujarat, and a 12 million tonnes a year port at Paradip, Odisha.

Prashant Ruia, Director, Essar Capital, said, "Essar has concluded its asset monetisation programme and completed the debt repayment of USD 25 billion (Rs 2 lakh crore) effectively making the group debt-free from Indian banks and financial institutions".

Essar continues to have a significant presence and substantial operating assets in all its core verticals - energy, metals and mining, infrastructure and logistics and technology and retail.

The privately held group currently has revenues of USD 15 billion (about Rs 1.2 lakh crore) and assets under management of USD 8 billion (Rs 64,000 crore) within and outside India.

Rewant Ruia, Director, Essar Ports Terminals Ltd, said, "In a planned and strategic manner, we have monetised assets that we built over the last 30 years. 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".

The assets that Essar has monetised over the last five years have yielded a multifold return on investments, which is a testimony to Essar's reputation for building world-class, world-scale and high-quality assets in all its business verticals, the statement said. "Essar has been and will continue to be a significant player and participant in the India growth story while continuing to derive substantial growth and revenues from its international operations."