Competition Commission clears acquisitions by JSW Energy, Shell, Adani Infra

New Delhi: The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved seven acquisitions, including those by JSW Energy Ltd, Shell Plc and Adani Infra (India) Ltd.

The competition watchdog approved all transactions without modifications, statements issued by the CCI on Wednesday showed. 

JSW Energy Ltd has got green signal from the regulator for its full acquisition of KSK Mahanadi Power Company Ltd, an insolvent company, having coal-based power project in Chhattisgarh. National Company Law Tribunal in Hyderabad had earlier cleared the resolution plan submitted by the company. The New Indian Express had reported on 14 February the rescue plan was of ₹16,084 crore.

JSW Energy, a listed company, has a presence in power generation, transmission and trading. It has also presence in coal mining and power equipment manufacturing through subsidiaries. The acquisition will be done through JSW Thermal Energy One Ltd, set up last October. KSK Mahanadi Power Co. Ltd. supplies power through its six 600 MW each thermal power plant in Chhattisgarh. 

CCI has also cleared the full acquisition of Raj Petro Specialities Pvt. Ltd, a producer of high-performance petro-speciality products, by Shell Plc. The transaction will be done through Shell Deutschland GmbH and Shell Overseas Investments B.V., CCI said.

Shell Group is active in oil and gas exploration, production, manufacturing, marketing and shipping of oil products and chemicals. It is also into renewable energy products and the manufacture and sale of lubricants.

CCI said it has also cleared the acquisition of PSP Projects Ltd by Adani Infra (India) Ltd. The deal involves acquisition of stake in the company held by Prahaladbhai S. Patel and a subsequent open offer. After the deal, the acquirer and the seller and other existing promoters, on the other hand, would hold equal shareholding, CCI said.

Adani Infra (India) Ltd has specialization in engineering, project management and construction services for power generation and transmission sectors. PSP Projects Ltd provides engineering and construction services. Adani Infra (India) Ltd last year signed the deal to acquire up to 30.07% stake from PSP Project Ltd’s existing promoter Prahladbhai Patel. Patel and family hold 60.14% stake in the company.

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CCI has also cleared Ambuja Cements Ltd’s 72.8% stake in Orient Cement Ltd. Ambuja, along with its subsidiaries, operates 22 integrated cement plants across India. Orient Cement is a producer of grey cement and has three manufacturing facilities in Telangana, Karnataka and Maharashtra, with distribution in 10 states across India. 

The deal involves the acquisition of 46.80% of the issued share capital in Orient Cement. Subsequently, Ambuja has to make an open offer for up to 26% of the expanded share capital of the target company. Assuming full acceptance of open offer, the shareholding of the acquirer will stand at 72.8%, CCI said.