Int'l Power sells stake in Bahrain plant

International Power has, together with parent company GDF SUEZ, sold a large stake in Bahrain's Hidd Power Company (HPC).

The plant, which has a total capacity of 929 megawatts of 90m imperial gallons per day of water desalination, was originally sold to a consortium of Int'l Power (40%), GDF SUEZ Energy International (30%) and Sumitomo Corporation (30%) in 2006.

A 40% interest in the plant has now been offloaded to Malakoff International for $113.4m, leaving the firm with a 30% stake.

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"This transaction is in line with International Power's agreement to sell down part of its interest in the Bahraini power market to comply with regulatory requirements following the combination with GDF SUEZ Energy International in February 2011," the firm said.

The transaction contributes €0.6bn to the GDF SUEZ €10bn portfolio optimisation programme.

The remaining stake will now be accounted for under the equity method as an associate with its net debt (of €538m as at March 31st) not included within Int'l Power net debt.

GDF SUEZ owns 70% of the FTSE 100 electricity generating company.

BC