JSPL Mauritius to divest entire stake in Oman asset

Jindal Steel & Power Limited’s subsidiary at Mauritius (JSPML) is set to divest its entire stake in its Oman asset, Jindal Shadeed Iron and Steel Co LLC (JSIS Oman) to Templar Investments Limited.

The enterprise value of this deal is over US$ 1 billion. This divestment will enable the company to reduce its debt and deleverage its balance sheet. The transaction is subject to approval from the shareholders of JSPL and the lenders of JSIS Oman among others. The company expects the transaction to close in approximately one month.

Templar Investments Limited (Mauritius) is an investment company and part of JSPL Promoter Group.

For this purpose, Middle East-based investment bank Alpen Capital was appointed that ran a sale process and received competitive offers from multiple interested bidders. Legal advisors for the transaction are CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP, Oman and Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, India.

In FY19, JSPL has already deleveraged Rs 4,000 crore from operational initiatives through operational cash flows and had planned to pare debt worth Rs 8,000 crore in FY20. During the year, the company managed to reduce its net debt by Rs 4,379 crore on a constant currency basis. By the end of FY20, JSPL’s consolidated net debt stood at Rs 35,919 crore.

On Wednesday, the stock of JSPL opened at Rs 163.45 and in the early morning session, it slipped by 2.4 per cent to Rs 157.65 from its previous close of Rs 161.60.