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R. Balaji

Chennai, Aug. 18 PVP Ventures Ltd is set for major investments in the power sector with the proposed merger of Malaxmi Energy Ventures with itself.

According to information provided by the company to the stock exchange, the PVP Ventures’ board will consider and accept the valuation report for the merger by PricewaterhouseCoopers Pvt Ltd on Wednesday.

Mr Prasad V. Potluri, Chairman and Managing Director, PVP Group, told Business Line that with the merger, PVP Ventures will emerge a large player in the independent power projects arena. For PVP Ventures, power project development and generation will emerge as a major investment area other than real estate development where it has large projects.

Malaxmi Energy has a significant stake in two major power projects – 50 per cent in Navabharat Power Pvt Ltd and 26 per cent in Simhapuri Energy Pvt Ltd – which are in advanced stages of implementation with confirmed coal linkages. With the merger of Malaxmi Energy with PVP Ventures, the power projects would come under a subsidiary PVP Malaxmi Energy Ventures, he said.

Navabharat Power is a special purpose vehicle promoted by Malaxmi and Navabharat Ventures which is setting up a 2,250 MW coal-based power project in Dhenkanal dstrict, Orissa. It has been allotted coal linkages and coal blocks. The clearances and approvals for the power project are also in place, he said.

Simhapuri Energy is a joint venture between Malaxmi and Madhucon Projects for a 540 MW (270 MW x 2) power project at Krishnapatnam, Nellore dstrict, Andhra Pradesh. The financial closure for the first phase has been achieved.

Malaxmi Energy, promoted by the technocrat Mr Y. Harish Chandra Prasad, gives PVP Ventures not just the assets but also an expert management team with experience in power project development, Mr Potluri said.

Over the next 12-18 months, PVP Malaxmi Energy would look at setting up power projects of capacity of 8,000 MW, which would be implemented in the next 5-7 years. The company’s investments in these projects would be around Rs 4,000 crore.

On the funding, Mr Potluri said over Rs 2,000 crore revenue from realty projects over the next five years would be utilised for investments in the power project. This money would be PVP Ventures’ share of revenue from a 70-acre township it is implementing in Chennai jointly with Arihant and Unitech. Also, funds would be sourced by the SPVs for the power project and through strategic financing.

According to PVP Ventures officials, the Chennai township project (coming up on the former Binny Mills’ lands at Perambur) is going through the process of approvals and the company is looking at a launch around Diwali.

In the pipeline is a 1,300-acre residential project in Hyderabad, near the international airport. The company also has lands in Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam, where more developments are planned.

More Stories on : Venture Capital | Power

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