Deals

Ind-Barath Power Infra prepares for IPO

Private equity firms CVCI and Ascent Capital will partially exit their holdings in the Indian power development company as it looks to raise INR11.4bn from its IPO.

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Ind-Barath Power Infra, an Indian power infrastructure development company, has filed a draft red herring prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Board of India, and plans to raise up to INR 11.4 billion (€201 million; $249 million) through the fresh issue of equity shares in its IPO. 
The public offering will also see private equity firms CVCI India and Ascent Capital sell partial stakes and dilute their shareholding in the company. CVCI India, the Indian unit of Citi Venture Capital International is looking to sell up to 6.465 million shares through the IPO, while Ascent Capital plans to sell up to 1 million shares.
Bessemer Venture Partners and Sequoia Capital India are also investors in the company.
CVCI first invested INR2.9 billion in Ind-Barath alongside Ascent Capital (then known as UTI Ventures) in 2007 in the company’s first round of financing. Subsequently, in October 2009, the company received a $100 million investment from CVCI, Sequoia Capital India and Bessemer Venture Partners.
As of now, CVCI owns 22.105 million shares, or 23.17 percent of the company, and Ascent Capital owns 3.56 million shares, which translates into a 3.73 percent stake. The IPO will see both these firms dilute a part of their shareholding in the power developer.
On the other hand, Bessemer Venture Partners and Sequoia Capital India own stakes of 5.46 percent and 8.78 percent in the company respectively.
Ind-Barath is an infrastructure development company focused primarily on establishing small- and medium-sized gas, hydro, bio-mass and coal power projects various states in India. A portion of the proceeds will be used for the construction and development of three prower projects, it said in its prospectus. These include a 300MW coal-based power project and a 660MW coal-based power project, both located in the state of Tamil Nadu; and a 700MW coal-based power project located in Orissa.
Ind-Barath is also considering an INR1.7 billion pre-IPO placement of shares, the company said.
CVCI has invested more than $1 billion in India so far. A few of its other investments include retail stock broking firm Sharekhan; Suzlon Energy, a wind turbine manufacturer; You Telecom, a broadband internet service provider; and Emaar MGF, a real estate development joint venture of Dubai’s Emaar Properties and India’s MGF Development. In India, the firm is based in Mumbai.
Ascent Capital is a Bangalore-based firm focused on making growth capital investments in India. The firm, formerly known as UTI Ventures, closed its third private equity fund on $350 million in December 2009.  Some of the firm’s past transactions include investments include Consolidated Construction Consortium, an urban infrastructure service company; Koutons Retail, a men’s apparel retail chain; and Laqshya Media, an outdoor media company.