Indian conglomerate Essar Group is in talks to buy Trinity Coal from US private equity firm Denham Capital for $550-$600 million (around Rs 2,530 crore-Rs 2,760 crore), a source familiar with the matter said, as the group looks to fuel its steel and power plants.
?The deal is in the final stages of negotiations and could be concluded shortly, may be in the coming weeks,? a person close to the development said.
When contacted, an Essar spokesperson declined to comment. Essar, controlled by billionaire brothers Shashi and Ravi Ruias, is looking to expand its businesses spanning telecommunications and energy to steel and shipping. Denham could not immediately be reached for comment.
Trinity Coal operates surface and underground mines in southern West Virginia and eastern Kentucky in the United States. The company has estimated reserves of about 200 million tonnes, including both metallurgical and thermal coal. It has an annual production capacity of 7 million tonnes.
Energy and commodity focused private equity firm Denham has investment and committed capital of $4.3 billion and, according to its Web site, it targets investments in the range of $50-250 million. Given this strategy, it could be looking at a pretty neat profit by selling Trinity. An earlier international report said Denham was looking for buyers for Trinity around two years ago as well.
