Bajaj Hindusthan to sell investment in two group firms

Country's largest sugar firm Bajaj Hindusthan today said it will seek shareholders' nod for sale of investment in two group firms related to power venture, Bajaj Energy and a subsidiary in Singapore. Bajaj Hindusthan has 26 per cent stake in Bajaj Energy, while Bajaj Hindusthan (Singapore) Pte Ltd is a wholly-owned subsidiary set up to acquire coal mine in Indonesia.

In a filing to the BSE, the company said the board of directors has approved seeking consent of shareholders by way of postal ballot for sale of investment in Bajaj Energy Pvt Ltd and Bajaj Hindusthan (Singapore) Pte Ltd. According to sources, Bajaj Hindusthan is likely to sell investment in these two firms to group firms only to enable the company to fund investment in its 1980-MW thermal power project at Lalitpur in Uttar Pradesh.

Bajaj Energy has set up coal based power plants of 90 MW each in the vicinity of 5 of its existing sugar units. These projects have been commissioned in March 2012 at a cost of around Rs 2,300 crore. Bajaj Hindusthan had set up a subsidiary Bajaj Hindusthan (Singapore) Pvt Ltd, which is engaged in trading in commodities and also exploring opportunities for coal mine acquisition in Indonesia. The Singapore subsidiary has already acquired coal mine in Indonesia.

That apart, Bajaj Hindusthan is also developing two mega thermal power projects in Lalitpur district of UP of 1,980 MW each through consortium. Shareholders' approval would be taken for re-appointment and payment of remuneration to company's Chairman and Managing Director Shishir Bajaj for a further period of 5 years with effect from July 1 2013.

The shareholders nod would also be taken for payment of minimum remuneration in case of loss or inadequacy of profit for a period of three years. Share price fell by 3.2 per cent to Rs 14.45 on BSE.