Friday, November 20, 2009
NEW DELHI (AFP) - – Suzlon Energy, India's biggest maker of wind turbine generators, has sold a 35-percent stake in Belgian wind gearbox maker Hansen, raising 370 million dollars as it moves to cut debt, a statement said.
The sale, reducing troubled Suzlon's holding in Hansen Transmissions International NV to 20 percent, was announced late Thursday by the company.
It comes as Suzlon, buffeted by slowing orders as the global economic downturn has hit demand for clean energy projects, is seeking to reduce debt of around three billion dollars.
Suzlon, the world's fifth-largest turbine maker which dominates the Indian wind-generation market, purchased Hansen in 2006 for 565 million dollars in a deal it said had big synergies with its own wind turbine operations.
Hansen Transmissions is a leading global player in manufacturing wind gear boxes.
Suzlon, based in the western city of Ahmedabad and controlled by billionaire Tulsi Tanti, announced in June it would sell all or part of its holding in Hansen to reduce debt.
"We'll continue with our existing relationship with Hansen, which is as a strategic supplier for us," chief operating officer Sumant Sinha was quoted as saying by India's Economic Times newspaper.
"Our acquisition of Hansen was guided by long-range strategic interests that we see being delivered today," chairman Tanti added.
The company posted a quarterly loss for the three months ended September of 3.56 billion rupees (76.3 million dollars).
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