Adani Power close to taking over Coastal Energen for ₹3,440 crore

Mumbai: Adani Power is close to taking over bankrupt power company Coastal Energen for ₹3,440 crore.

After two days of intense bidding, Adani Power emerged as the winner late Saturday evening, said two people with knowledge of the matter. Jindal Power, the other bidder in the fray, quit the race, they added.

The interest in Coastal Energen, undergoing corporate insolvency, is mainly because it is among a few operational power plants for sale.

The offer from Adani Power is in partnership with Dickey Alternative Investment Trust, the people cited above said.

The resolution professional had received three firm bids: from Sherisha Technologies, Naveen Jindal-promoted Jindal Power and Dickey Alternative. Since Adani Power had not submitted an expression of interest, it partnered with Dickey to offer a joint resolution plan.

Lenders held a challenge mechanism auction for price discovery on receving plans from three applicants.

PwC-backed resolution professional Radhakrishnan Dharmarajan invited bidders to participate in the auction at a base price of ₹2,809.12 crore.



There were 18 rounds of bidding, which started on Friday noon and lasted till 3.00 am and resumed the following day and lasted till Saturday evening. In the nineteenth round, the Adani-Dickey team offered ₹3,440 crore while Jindal Power did not give a counter bid. Sherisha Technologies, the third applicant, did not participate in the bidding process.

Adani Power and Jindal Power did not respond to ET's request for comment.

Coastal Energen is among the rare power companies for sale which has two operational units of 600mw each in Tamil Nadu, and a power purchase agreement with Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corp (Tangedco) until September 2028 for one of its units.

In recent months, Adani failed to acquire Lanco Amarkantak, while Jindal Power was not considered as a preferred bidder for SKS Power. This may have prompted both Adani and Jindal Power to bid aggressively for Coastal Energen, the people cited above said.

The RP has admitted claims of ₹12,247 crore from employees, trade creditors and lenders. The Adani-Dickey's offer of ₹3,440 crore will equate to a recovery of 35%.

Ahmed Bahuri-promoted Coastal Energen's power is designed to operate on imported coal, a strategic fit for Adani, which operates coal mines overseas, people cited above said.

In the past, Adani Group has acquired Essar Power, Karaikal Port and Korba West Power under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code. The RP had asked all Adani and Jindal Power to submit a detailed plan, which will be put for a vote before lenders.


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