CCI nod to Adani Power-Lanco Infratech Udupi power plant deal

NEW DELHI: The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has cleared Adani Power’s proposed deal with Lanco Infratech to buy latter’s 1,200-MW imported coal-fired power plant at Udupi in Karnataka for more than Rs 6,000 crore, marking the biggest acquisition in India’s thermal power industry. "Post the combination, the combined market share of Adani, both in terms of installed capacity and electricity generation, would not be significant enough to raise any competition concern. The proposed combination is not likely to have any appreciable adverse effect on competition in India," the CCI observed while clearing the deal.

The deal, the largest in thermal power in terms of value and capacity, catapults the Adani Group, already India’s biggest private sector power producer, to a bigger league with a capacity of nearly 10,000 MW while helping Lanco reduce debt.

Adani Power’s current installed power generation capacity is 8,580 MW. It is also in the business of power transmission in some regions of India. Udupi is India’s first independent power project in the country based on 100% imported coal with a captive jetty of 4 million tonne per annum and an external coal-handling system located at Mangalore port.