Slaughter and May, Khaitan & Co and Nepalese firm Pioneer Law Associates have represented Malaysian power giant Tenaga Nasional Berhad on its purchase of a 30 percent stake in Indian conglomerate GMR Energy Ltd (GEL)’s portfolio of energy assets for $300 million.
White & Case acted for GEL, with partner Nandan Nelivigi handling the transaction. Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas and Krishnamurthy & Co advised GEL on India-related legal matters, with partners L Vishwanathan and Milind Jha overseeing the deal for their respective firms.
The Slaughter and May team was led by partner David Watkins, while the Khaitan team included associate partner Akhil Bhatnagar and partners Dibyanshu and Avaantika Kakkar. with the Pioneer Law team was led by partner Anup Upreti.
GEL plans to use the proceeds from the sale to reduce its debt, which totalled $6.5 billion at the end of September. Meanwhile, the deal gives Tenaga – Malaysia’s biggest power utility company – stakes in GEL power plants that have a combined capacity of 4,630 MW. It also grants Tenaga the right to invest in other GEL assets including the Chhattisgarh project and Indonesian properties at any time within the next five years. Tenaga will also appoint executives in GMR’s senior management during the development and operation stage of projects included in the portfolio.
