India Considers Merging Two State-Owned Power Lenders

(Bloomberg) -- India is considering a proposal to combine two state-run lenders to utilities, REC Ltd. and Power Finance Corp., according to people familiar with the discussions, as it seeks to raise funds to bridge a budget gap.

The first phase of the deal will see REC acquiring a majority stake valued at about $2.5 billion in Power Finance, possibly by the year ending March 2019, the people said, asking not to be named as the talks aren’t public. Subsequently, the plan is to merge the subsidiary with REC, a departure from the original plan to keep their operations separate. Power Finance had a market value of 268.8 billion rupees ($3.8 billion) on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government is seeking ways to narrow the country’s budget deficit to help finance public welfare projects ahead of elections. The sale of the stake in Power Finance mirrors a similar deal earlier this year, when state explorer Oil & Natural Gas Corp. bought a controlling stake in refiner Hindustan Petroleum Corp.

The merger plan is being considered after REC expressed concern that just acquiring a controlling stake in Power Finance would weaken its credit profile and wouldn’t yield any operational benefit. On the other hand, New Delhi-based REC has informed the power ministry that a combined entity will be complementary as it would eliminate competition among them in raising funds or finding customers, according to the people involved in the plan.

Affordable Power

A combined power sector lender can leverage its size to borrow at lower rates and help fund the nation’s goal of ensuring round-the-clock supply of affordable electricity for all Indians and also help fund projects beyond the electricity sector. A bigger lender will also help instill better discipline among borrowers, especially distribution companies, the people said.

Press offices at REC, Power Finance and the power ministry didn’t respond to emails seeking comment, while calls made to the finance ministry’s spokesman were not answered.

REC shares fell as much as 0.9 percent to 120.85 rupees in early trade in Mumbai on Wednesday, while Power Finance declined as much as 2.1 percent to 99.65 rupees. The government has a 65.6 percent holding in Power Finance, which has gained 27 percent since Bloomberg first reported the government’s plan to sell its stake to REC on Sept. 24, while REC has advanced 24 percent.

REC is keen on the merged entity to subsequently extend its lending book beyond the power sector and wants oversight of its operations shifted to the finance ministry, the people said. The company changed its name, discarding the earlier Rural Electrification Corp., last month as it limited the scope of doing business.

To contact the reporters on this story: Rajesh Kumar Singh in New Delhi at rsingh133@bloomberg.net;Siddhartha Singh in New Delhi at ssingh283@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Ramsey Al-Rikabi at ralrikabi@bloomberg.net, Abhay Singh, Unni Krishnan

©2018 Bloomberg L.P.