Nava Bharat Acquires 65% In Zambia Based - Maamba Collieries Ltd

Nava Bharat Ventures Ltd is acquiring 65% stake in Maamba Collieries Ltd. The acquisition was made through a consortium which included a group of Zambian investors along with Nava Bharat (Singapore) Pte Ltd.

As per the terms of the deal, Nava Bharat will pay $26 Mn to ZCCM Investment Holdings, while the government will retain 35% stake as well as a Golden Share. Nava Bharat will also invest $510 Mn to revamp operations and build 300 megawatts thermal power station.

ZCCM-IH is Zambian Government's investment holding company. It issued a global tender in 2008 to privatise Maamba. Others bidders include Vedanta Resources Plc, South Africa’s Londoloza Resources Corp., Borneo Mining SA, London-based Aldwych International Ltd and the Zambezi Consortium Ltd comprising investors from Mauritius and Zambia.

Maamba Collieries is currently insolvent due to debt in the range of $50 Mn. The Zambian government is also planning to list upto 25% of Maamba Collieries on the Lusaka Stock Exchange.

Nava Bharat Ventures Ltd (earlier Nava Bharat Ferro Alloys Ltd) started operations in 1972 as a manufacturer of ferrosilicon. The company later diversified into sugar and real estate among others.

Nava Bharat (Singapore) Pte Ltd is a wholly owned subsidary of Nava Bharat and controls its overseas projects and trading activities.

This would be Nava Bharat's second overseas acquisition. Earlier in Jan'09, it acquired 75% stake in a coal mine in Indonesia, with reserves of about 10 mt, for $18 Mn.

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