RInfra set to sell ₹13,000-cr Mumbai power distribution business to Adanis

In a bid to pare its debt, the Anil Ambani-led Reliance Infrastructure (RInfra) is in talks with Adani Transmission for the sale of its flagship Mumbai distribution business, valued at ₹10,000-13,000 crore.

The two companies have entered into an agreement for exclusive talks till January 15, 2018.

“The proposed transaction would further strengthen ATL’s footprint in the power transmission sector while making its foray into the power distribution sector,” Adani Transmission said in a statement. It did comment any further on the potential deal.

Divesting attempts RInfra has been trying to divest its Mumbai distribution business for the past three years. In 2015, in entered into talks with Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments) of Canada for the sale of a 49 per cent stake in the discom. However, this did not result in a deal.

If the deal with Adani goes through, RInfra will be looking at utilising the proceeds of the proposed transaction entirely to reduce its ₹20,000 debt, and tackle opportunities in other sectors such as EPC and Defence, the company added.

RInfra has been operating its distribution business in Mumbai for the last nine years and has a licence valid till August 2036.

It serves around three million customers and is considered to be one of India’s largest private sector integrated power utilities.

The company recovered ₹251 crore in arrears in Q1 FY18 in the Mumbai distribution area. The total amount recovered as on June 30 stood at ₹3,393 crore.