Monnet Ispat & Energy (MIEL) is in talks with investors for a stake sale in subsidiary Monnet Power Company, a company official said. The official added that the company, which manufactures sponge iron, steel and ferro alloys, is in discussions with three to four players, including international companies. “We are presently speaking to three-four players for a stake sale. The main reason is to reduce our debts. We cannot divulge any names or information on valuations at this stage as discussions are preliminary,” the official said. MIEL shares gained as much as 12.9 per cent in Tuesday’s trade before closing 2.2 per cent higher at Rs 53.65. The BSE benchmark Sensex was muted as it closed 30.3 points lower at 28,161.72 points. The sale of the power subsidiary is part of the parent company’s efforts to pare its consolidated net debts (steel, mining and power) that stood at close to Rs 10,611 crore as on March 31, 2014. Of this, the power company’s debt stands at around Rs 4,500 crore, an official said. The consolidated finance costs during the quarter ended December 31, 2014, stood at Rs 149 crore, up from Rs 66 crore in the same quarter of the previous year. MIEL incurred a capex of Rs 3,205 crore in 2013-14. FE
