Lanco Infratech Ltd is in talks with investors to sell a minority stake in its power business to raise $600 million to $750 million to fund expansion, a senior executive said on Tuesday, sending its shares up as much as 19 percent.
The company, whose main activity is engineering and construction, aims to spin off the power business and sell a stake in it by the June quarter, said Philip Chacko, director of investor relations.
"There are quite a few interested parties who wanted to partner with us -- people, who have a long-term view on the power sector in the country," he said in an interview over the phone.
The cash will be used to partly fund a 4,900 megawatt capacity plant it is constructing and for another 4,000 MW project it plans to build. It currently runs a 4,400 MW plant.
Lanco, which had net debt of 317.55 billion rupees at the end of December, has hired Macquarie for the fund-raising and the talks include financial and strategic investors, Chacko said.
India plans to add 76,000 MW generation capacity in the five years to 2017 to help bridge a peak power shortage of about 11 percent.
Lanco is also planning to sell its wind power business, which it considers "non-core" and plans to focus on conventional and solar energy, Chacko said, without elaborating.
Its wind power business comprises an operational 13 MW wind farm and licences for additional 3,300 MW.
Shares in Lanco, valued at $788 million, ended up 16.4 percent at 18.80 rupees, while the main stock index closed 0.43 percent higher.
Lanco earlier reported a 67 percent fall in December-quarter profit to 1.83 billion rupees.
