New owner to take over Meghnaghat, Haripur power plants next month

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A Z M Anas
Saudi-Malaysian consortium, Pendekar Energy, which purchased CDC Globeleq, is poised to take over the country's two power plants-Meghnaghat and Haripur-by September, sources said.
The source noted that representatives of Globeleq and Pendekar have started talks with the lenders to get their consents, while trying to assuage concerns of the latter.
"If everything goes well, Pendekar Energy will take over Meghnaghat and Haripur power plants owned by Globeleq at the end of September. The buyer will also take over the stakes of the Globeleq in the NEPC, a joint venture," he told the FE, referring to a meeting with the representatives of Globeleq and Pendekar in the city.
The source maintained that the Globeleq representatives submitted the buyers' profile to lenders, reiterating the ownership transfer would not have any negative impact on future operations of the companies.
"… CDC Group selected the consortium in the firm belief that it is best placed to take over the ownership of Globeleq and to strengthen the underlying operating businesses in North Africa and South Asia," the adviser of Globeleq, Paul York, said in a recent letter to the lenders.
The CDC Group, through its subsidiary CDC Globeleq Holdings Limited, has recently struck an agreement to sell the entire share of Globeleq Ltd to Pendekar, a consortium of Tanjong Energy Holdings (Malaysia) and Aljomaih Automotive Company (Saudi Arabia) for $493 million.
Tanjong Group, which owns and operates three gas-fired power plants in Malaysia with a total generation capacity of 1, 490 megawatt (MW), is the second largest independent power producer in Malaysia. It has also effective stakes in power generation companies in the United Arab Emirates and Egypt.
The company's turnover was US$ 482 million in the fiscal 2007 ending January 31.
Similarly, with its annual turnover of $888 million in 2005, Aljomaih Automotive Company is one of the largest business groups in the Gulf region and is mainly engaged in the distribution of branded products.
In another development, the source said, lenders of Meghnaghat will hold a tele-conference on August 16 to review the transition as well as future operations.
Meanwhile, worries over the possible job loss have mounted among the staffers at both Meghnaghat and Haripur companies in the wake of ownership transfer.
The source said, however, the current chief executive officer of Meghnaghat Power Limited (MPL) could be replaced, although a major shake-up is "highly unlikely."
The Haripur and Meghnaghat facilities were originally acquired by Globeleq in December 2003. Globeleq is also a co-operator of the 113 MW natural gas-fuelled NEPC generating company in Bangladesh.
The major lenders of the Globeleq's two power plants include the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank, ANZ Grindlays and Standard Chartered Bank.
The 450 MW AES Meghnaghat-1 combined cycle power plant achieved financial closure where more than 30 international lenders and investment banks extended credit facilities worth US$220 million to install the power plant back in April 2001.
Of the total amount, the International Development Association (IDA), the soft lending arm of the World Bank, appropriated US$80 million, channeling the funds from the Private Sector Infrastructure Development Project (PSIDP).
Including $70 million in guaranteed loans, the contribution of the Asian Development Bank in the power project totaled $120 million.
According to figures available with CDC Globeleq, Meghnaghat Power Limited generated revenues amounting to $387 million in fiscal ended in June 2007.
On the other hand, revenues of Haripur Power Limited totaled $230 million in the same period.