Greentech Lead India: Suzlon Energy has sold a part of
its wind energy farm for $40 million to an undisclosed private utility as part
of its effort to raise money for upcoming debt payments and divest non-core
assets.
The wind farms are located across India. Suzlon owns around 60 MW spread across
five states, with majority of the assets in Tamil Nadu. Suzlon has sold almost
the entire capacity.
The deal is expected to be completed by May. Suzlon’s
foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCB) deadline is approaching and it may
face $389 million in bond redemptions if investors holding the FCCBs don’t
choose to swap them for shares.
“This is a modest but important step forward in our
strategy to optimise our capital structure and meet our repayment obligations
in this year,” said Kirti Vagadia, chief financial officer of Suzlon.
The company is expected to face a shortfall of Rs 3,000
crore in meeting its entire repayment obligations. Suzlon’s hopes of recovering
payments of $200 million from client Edison Mission were thrashed after the
latter said it would not be able to make the payment until February next year.
The company currently has its biggest-ever order backlog
at $7.5 billion, and a strong execution pipeline for its financial year 2013.
“In addition to divesting these non-core assets, we believe our
consistently improving business performance and outlook, particularly our
strong revenue visibility for FY13, puts us in strong position as we begin the
new fiscal,” Vagadia added.
Suzlon Energy recently sold
five wind farms in Brazil for $300 million.
editor@greentechlead.com