VSNL divests 10 pc stake in Sri Lankan subsidiary

Videsh Sanchar Nigam (VSNL) on Wednesday announced that it has sold off 10 per cent equity stake in its wholly owned subsidiary VSNL Lanka to Sunshine Holdings for Rs 7.5 crore. The Tata group company has sold 15.17 lakh shares to the Sri Lankan business conglomerate, Sunshine Holdings which has the option to acquire an additional 5 per cent of VSNL Lanka’s share capital in the next 12 months at fair market value, said VSNL in a statement in Mumbai. “This partnership with Sunshine Holdings will enable VSNL Lanka to capitalise on our partner’s intimate knowledge and experience in the Sri Lankan market. This is also part of our attempt to unlock value for our shareholders in an appropriate manner,” said company Chief Financial Officer Rajiv Dhar.

Sunshine Holdings has interests in pharmaceuticals, travel & tourism, tea & rubber cultivation and managing portfolio investments. Its Managing Director Vish Govindasamy said: “We have been working closely with VSNL in Lanka and this investment reiterates our commitment. We firmly believe that VSNL Lanka will be able to achieve a strong position in the Sri Lanka telecom market.”

VSNL Lanka offers international voice and data services  through an external gateway operator’s licence. VSNL Lanka would continue to play a leading role in the Sri Lankan market for international voice and data services.

XL Telecom to invest Rs 1,000 cr on solar power

XL Telecom & Energy on Wednesday announced in Mumbai its foray into power generation business through a wholly owned subsidiary, Saptashva Solar, with initial investments in Spain in the field of solar energy. It will establish a series of ‘Solar farms’ for power generation in Spain with a target for the first year of about 28 MW capacity, said the company release. The medium term target is to install close to 200 MW of these farms in Spain and Portugal alone.

The solar farms proposed to be established in the first year would require a total investment of about Euro 168 million (Rs 1000 crore) and the project is expected to have debt equity ratio of 1:4 which would largely get funded by local banks, the company said.

The project is expected to have 25 year power purchase agreement (PPA) from the local utility company. The move could also help the company move up in the solar value chain, from the current solar photovoltaic panel supplier to total system integrated player, which mean substantially higher per watt realisation going forward, it said.

Indowind Energy Ltd issues $30 m FCCB

Chennai-based Indowind Energy Ltd has issued $30 million (approximately Rs 118 crore) of Foreign Currency Convertible Bonds (FCCBs) with an option to raise an additional $5 million. The proceeds of the issue shall be utilised for overseas business expansion.

The FCCBs contains a coupon payment of 2.5 per cent paid semi-annually, have a maturity of five years and one day, and will be convertible into equity shares at a premium of 33 per cent. The underlying equity shares on conversion will be listed on the BSE and NSE. The current scope of the company’s operations includes wind power generation, developing windmill projects on a turnkey basis for sale to large corporate clients and power sharing on asset maintenance & management contracts. Jefferies International Ltd was the sole book-runner and lead manager for the transaction.