RInfra moves MERC for sale approval of Mumbai power biz to Adani Transmission

Anil Ambani-led Reliance Infrastructure (RInfra) today said it has filed an application before state electricity regulator MERC for approval to sell its Mumbai power business to Adani Transmission (ATL).

"RInfra has moved an application before Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) for its approval to assign its transmission and distribution licenses and transfer the integrated Mumbai power business to ATL," the company said in a statement issued here.

The company has sought approvals from MERC for assigning its licenses and transfer the businesses to RInfra's wholly owned subsidiary Reliance Electric Generation and Supply (REGSL), which will then be acquired by Adani Transmission.

In December last year, RInfra signed a definitive binding agreement for 100 per cent sale of its Mumbai power business with Adani Transmission for a total deal value of Rs 13,251 crore.

In addition, regulatory assets under approval, which is estimated at Rs 5,000 crore and net working capital on closing, estimated at Rs 550 crore, will flow directly to RInfra. This will take the total consideration value to Rs 18,800 crore.

With this deal, RInfra, which is sitting on a debt of nearly Rs 20,000 crore, would become debt-free, with up to Rs 3,000 crore cash surplus, the company said.

RInfra currently caters to nearly 30 lakh residential, industrial and commercial consumers in the city's suburbs, covering an area of 400 sq km.

In November, last year, RInfra completed the sale of its Western Region System Strengthening Scheme transmission undertakings to Adani Transmission for Rs 1,000 crore.

The assets under the transaction include Western Region Transmission Maharashtra Project comprising 2,089-circuit km (Ckm) of transmission lines, and Western Region Transmission Gujarat project comprising 974 Ckm of transmission lines.

With this acquisition, ATL's total network will be around 11,350 Ckm, of which approximately 9,000 Ckm are under operation.