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

NEW DELHI: 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 $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 $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 $15 billion (about Rs 1.2 lakh crore) and assets under management of $8 billion (Rs 64,000 crore) within and outside India.