Announcing the largest ever debt reduction exercise by an Indian corporate, Reliance Infrastructure (RInfra) on Thursday said it has signed a definite agreement for the sale of its Mumbai power business to Adani Transmission Ltd for a total consideration of Rs.18,800 crore.

While the total deal value of the sale of the Mumbai power utility Reliance Energy is Rs.13,251 crore, regulatory assets estimated at Rs. 5,000 crore and net working capital on closing estimated at Rs. 550 crore would also accrue to RInfra as part of the agreement, a company release said here.

"Reliance Infrastructure Ltd announced signing of a definitive binding agreement with Adani Transmission Ltd (ATL) for 100 per cent stake sale of its Mumbai power business, which includes the integrated business of generation, transmission and distribution of power for Mumbai," it said.

"Total deal value is at Rs. 13,251 crore. This comprises business valued at Rs. 12,101 crore and regulatory assets approved so far of Rs. 1,150 crore. In addition, regulatory assets under approval estimated at Rs. 5,000 crore and net working capital on closing estimated at Rs. 550 crore will flow directly to RInfra.

"Total consideration value is estimated at Rs. 18,800 crore," it said.

"RInfra will utilize the proceeds of this transformative transaction entirely to reduce its debt, becoming debt free and up to Rs. 3,000 crore cash surplus," the statement added.

The proposed transaction is subject to the customary approvals.

Describing the deal as the largest ever debt reducing exercise by any corporate, RInfra said that monetisation of the Mumbai power business is a major step in the companmy's deleveraging strategy for future growth.

"Reliance Infra's Mumbai power business (known as Reliance Energy) is India's largest private sector integrated power utility distributing power to nearly 3 million residential, industrial and commercial consumers in the suburbs of Mumbai, covering an area of 400 sq km," the statement said.

The Mumbai utility caters to a peak demand of over 1,800 MW, with annual revenues of Rs. 7,500 crore with stable cash flows, it added.

RInfra also said that, going forward, it will focus on upcoming opportunities in the asset-light engineering, procurement and construction, as well as defence businesses.

Credits : NDTV