Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Infrastructure India acquires 49% in Oriental Tollways

Infrastructure India, a London-listed investment fund, is close to acquiring a 49% stake in Oriental Tollways for Rs 450 crore ($90 million).Oriental is part of New Delhi-based privately-owned Bakshi Enterprise.Dabur India vice-chairman Amit Burman is a shareholder in OSE in a personal capacity.

The specialist India-focussed fund will invest in Oriental Tollways through a Mauritius-based subsidiary.Infrastructure India’s mandate is to invest in Indian energy and transport infrastructure projects and comes out of its belief that the present time is appropriate to focus on infrastructure in India given the fast pace of change in its economy.The fund has already invested in Shree Maheswar Hydel Power Corporation, a 400-MW hydroelectric power project located in Madhya Pradesh, among others, in India.

Its investment, which will value Oriental Tollways at Rs 918 crore, comes against a gloomy backdrop for the Indian infrastructure sector, which has, in the past, been hobbled by bureaucratic delays and is now a victim of tight funding conditions amid a global credit crunch, on the whole.

Read more in The Economic Times article.

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