Optical storage media manufacturer, Moser Baer?s Photovoltaic subsidiary has raised Rs 411 crore from a consortium of global PE investors, which includes Nomura, CDC group, Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley, IDFC PE and IDFC. It has led to an equity dilution of Moser Baer?s stake in the company by 6.5%. On cards is expansion of the PV business by adding a capacity of around 300 mega watt (mw) to its existing capacity of 120 mw over the next financial year. For this, Moser Baer plans to pump in $400 million in financial year 2008-09.
?We are looking at building a capacity of 1 GW in the next three years. However, over the next financial year, we plan to add 100 mw to the crystalline silicon vertical, which currently has 80 mw of capacity. To the thin film vertical, 65 mw will be added to the existing 40 mw,? said Tarun Jaitly, senior GM, capaital markets, Moser Baer India. From its exiting capacity, Moser Baer is expecting a revenue run rate of $300 million by year-end.
The company is also planning to raise an additional Rs 200 crore by year-end to fuel its expansion plans. ?For the next round of funding, we will either look at the PE route again or will hit the public markets,? said Yogesh Mathur, CFO, Moser Baer India. The investment of $400 million will go into the company?s Greater Noida facility. ?Our greenfield plant at Chennai is still on the development stage, the land has been acquired and the civil works have just started,? added Mathur.
In the next phase of expansion, it plans to add about 500 mw more of thin film capacity in the Chennai facility. The company had received a PE funding of Rs 400 crore in November 2007, a part of which will be used to meet the current capacity expansion targets.
?Currently most of the photovoltaic unit?s earnings are from exports. But with the state governments stressing on greater use of renewable sources of energy, the domestic market growing significantly,? said Mathur.
In the past, the demand for photovoltaic was driven by the need for clean form of energy. Now it is driven by economics as it is cost effective potential form of energy, added Mathur. For the year ended March 2008, photovoltaic unit posted revenue of $42.2 million, about 8.5% of Moser Baer?s total revenue. The transaction values Moser Baer photovoltaic business at Rs 6,350 crore.
