Vedanta To Buy Insolvent Athena Chhattisgarh Power For $71.4 Mln

Vedanta Ltd. said it will acquire insolvent Athena Chhattisgarh Power Ltd. for 564.67 crore rupees ($71.36 million) in cash.

Athena has 1,200 megawatts coal-based power plant at Jhanjgir Champa district in Chhattisgarh state, closer to Vedanta’s BALCO plant, the natural resources conglomerate said in a stock exchange announcement. The acquisition is expected to be completed in FY23, it added.

Vedanta said the acquisition will fulfill the power requirement at Vedanta Aluminium business and add synergies via vertical integration by providing a cost advantage related to power consumption.

Athena was admitted under the corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) on 15 May 2019, and the Hyderabad bench of the National Company Law Tribunal bench directed initiation of the liquidation process of the company on 13 May 2021.

The company has never been operational as its Unit 1 and Unit 2 are 80% and 30% complete, respectively.

(Note: 1$ = 79.1340 Indian rupees)