On August 26, Essar stated that it had reached a sale agreement with Arcelor Mittal Nippon Steel (AM/NS) for a number of ports and power infrastructure assets that are principally captive to the operations of the Hazira steel plant valued at Rs 19,000 crore.
According to the statement, Essar and Arcelor Mittal will engage in a 50-50 joint venture to build a 4 MTPA LNG terminal at Hazira, Gujarat.
Rewant Ruia, Director of Essar Ports & Terminals Limited, commented on the deal, stating that “Essar Ports & Terminals has unlocked value for all its stakeholders with this deal, which yields a multifold return on our investments, and will continue to focus on building new and modern core infrastructure assets in India and abroad.”
With the signing of this agreement, Essar will complete its expected asset monetisation programme and the 2,00,000 crore debt repayment plan, practically fully repaying the Indian banking industry. Essar’s overall revenues will be close to 1.2 lakh core, and its AUM (Asset Under Management), which consists of a range of assets situated both in India and abroad, will be close to US$ 8 billion (or 64,000 crores).
Prashant Ruia, Director, Essar Capital, said, “Essar is now repositioned for growth and resurgence. After consolidating our businesses over the last 4 years, we have now entered the next growth phase focused on helping build a sustainable energy future that will impact lives and livelihoods for a greener world.”