Sembcorp, Adani eye GMR project; MedPlus promoter may buy out PE funds

By Keshav Sunkara

  • 02 Jan 2018
Credit: Thinkstock

Billionaire Gautam Adani-led Adani Power Ltd, state-run NLC India Ltd and Singapore-based Sembcorp Industries are vying to acquire a majority stake in a thermal power plant of GMR Infrastructure Ltd, The Economic Times reported, citing people aware of the development.

GMR Chhattisgarh Energy Ltd, which operates the 1,370-megawatt plant near Raipur in Chhattisgarh, is undergoing a strategic debt restructuring (SDR) process.

Last year, lenders to GMR Chhattisgarh had invoked the SDR and converted its debt of Rs 2,992 crore into a 52.4% equity stake. GMR Group holds a 47.6% stake in the company.

After the conversion, the remaining debt of the company stands at Rs 5,800 crore, according to the annual report.

In a separate report, Mint said Hyderabad-based MedPlus Health Services Pvt. Ltd's promoter, Madhukar Gangadi, has secured around Rs 700-750 crore in debt financing from Goldman Sachs to buy out private equity investors in the pharmacy chain.

The investors in MedPlus include Mount Kellett Capital, TVS Capital and Piramal Group-backed India Venture Advisors, the report said, citing two people aware of the development. These firms had invested in MedPlus by buying the stake of Bahrain-based Arcapita Bank’s in 2011. These investors hold a stake of close to 69% in the company.

In 2015-16, the company registered a consolidated net profit of Rs 18.6 crore on total income of Rs 1,741 crore.