Moser Baer’s Energy Business attracts investment of INR 13.5 Billion from Blackstone

New York / Mumbai / New Delhi, 18 August, 2010: Moser Baer Projects Private Limited (MBPPL), a developer of power generation facilities with a diverse pipeline of thermal, solar and hydroelectric power projects has attracted an investment of INR 13.5 billion (approximately USD 300 million / INR 1,350 crore) from The Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX). MBPPL has been founded by Deepak Puri & Ratul Puri, who have earlier established Moser Baer India Limited (MBIL), a world class technology manufacturer. MBPPL plans to commission 5,000 MW by 2016 comprising of 4,000 MW of thermal, 500 MW of solar and 500 MW of hydro capacity. Blackstone’s investment will enable MBPPL to emerge as a leading player in the India energy sector over the next few years.

Elaborating on the partnership, Deepak Puri, Founder, MBPPL said: “Needless to emphasize the criticality of India’s energy requirement which would require massive investments to sustain its high growth trajectory. Since the government’s resources are limited, the private sector has an important role to play. We are proud to partner with Blackstone (one of the most respected private equity investors in the world) whose global expertise in energy will help us establish one of India’s leading independent power generation business. This will enable us to deliver reliable and affordable power that India needs to support its continued economic growth.”

On this occasion Ratul Puri, Director, MBPPL, said “Energy sector is an attractive long term investment destination. We believe that an enabling regulatory environment will facilitate greater private sector participation and will pave way for significant capacity addition to the languishing energy infrastructure in the country. We are happy to have found a partner in Blackstone who shares our zeal and vision to make MBPPL a leading energy developer.”

Commenting on the deal, Akhil Gupta, Chairman and Managing Director of Blackstone Advisors India Private Limited, said: “Infrastructure development continues to remain one of our key investment themes in India. We have been studying the Indian power sector for over a year and are excited to partner with Moser Baer. We believe that they have one of the best management teams in the sector and an enviable track record of completing large projects on schedule and on budget. In addition, their strategy of developing assets across multiple fuel sources is compelling. We look forward to help them replicate their success as a manufacturer of optical media and solar panels in building one of India’s leading power companies.”

David Foley, Senior Managing Director at Blackstone with primary responsibility for private equity investments in the energy sector, said: "We are increasingly utilizing Blackstone's worldwide network and relationships to originate and evaluate proprietary private equity investments in high growth economies, often in partnership with best-in-class local companies. This is a particularly significant opportunity for our energy sector initiatives due to the prevalence of local underdeveloped energy resources and the ever increasing demand for energy required by these countries to support their continued industrialization and rising per capita incomes."