No hurry to sell stake in InterGen: GMR Group

HYDERABAD: Infra major GMR Group is not in a hurry to sell its stake in overseas power firm InterGen, said GMR Group chairman GM Rao here today.

"We are getting many unsolicited offers. We are not in a hurry. The offer should be more than our investment in the company. Then only we will think of it. The offer should be more than $ 1.5 billion." GM Rao told PTI on the sidelines of a function at National Academy of Legal Studies and Research University (NALSAR) here.

Bangalore-based GMR Infrastructure bought 50 per cent of InterGen in 2008 for $1.1 billion from a fund owned by American International Group Inc. The rest of InterGen is owned by Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan.

InterGen has 12 plants with a total generation capacity of almost 8,100 megawatts. The facilities are located in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Mexico, Australia and the Philippines. Almost 90 per cent of its power generation is gas-fired while the remainder comes from coal.

It was earlier explained by GMR that the dividends being offered by Intergen do not even match the interest being paid out on the loans taken for funding the acquisition, which reportedly forced the company to sell its stake.

Rao said the process will take 3-4 months to come to a conclusion. However, he made clear that the decision will depend on the price and valuation.

According to reports Tata Power, which has a total generation capacity of about 3,000 MW and Chinese major Huaneng group are said to be in the race for the stake purchase.