Rosneft acquires Essar Oil in largest FDI deal at $12.9 bn

Sanjeev Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 21

In the single largest foreign investment in India, Russian oil giant Rosneft-led consortium has closed the $12.9-billion acquisition of Essar Oil.

This investment, which is Russia’s single largest foreign investment made anywhere in the world, marks a new chapter for Indo-Russian economic cooperation.

The controlling shareholders of Essar Oil, Essar Energy said it is pleased to have concluded this transaction that was initiated in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The transaction is also the single largest foreign investment in India, and re-establishes the country’s image as an attractive destination for foreign investments.

Commenting on the transaction, Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said, “This acquisition would lead to strengthening the “New Energy Bridge” between Russia and India”.

Essar founder Shashi Ruia said: “Today is a historic day for Indo-Russian economic ties. This transaction reflects the shared vision of two of the world’s most dynamic leaders”.

Chanda Kochhar, MD & CEO, ICICI Bank, said the deal also underscores the keenness of foreign investors to enter India, the fastest growing large economy in the world.

The deal includes EOL’s 20 MTPA Vadinar Refinery in Gujarat (one of the world’s largest, with a complexity index of 11.8), its pan-India network of over 3,500 retail outlets (representing India’s largest private sector retail network), as well as the associated refinery infrastructure.

The transaction perimeter also includes the Vadinar Port (capacity of 58 million tonnes with world-class dispatch and storage facilities) and the Vadinar power plant (a 1,010 MW state-of-the-art, multi-fuel unit that supplies both power and steam to the Vadinar refinery).

Prashant Ruia, Director, Essar Capital, said, “With this deal, we have completed our monetisation and deleveraging programme. We have substantially deleveraged our portfolio companies’ balance sheets, reducing debt by over $11 billion.”