Brookfield drops Gammon power projects in India

Canadian fund manager Brookfield Asset Management and Core Infrastructure India Fund have dropped three power projects from the proposed acquisition of a portfolio of power and road assets from India’s Gammon Infrastructure Projects, Infrastructure Investor has learnt. 

The two investors formed a consortium called BIF India Holdings last August to acquire six road and three power projects with a total cost of roughly $1 billion. The deal marked the first major infrastructure investment made by Brookfield since its Indian office was set up in 2009. 

However, sources familiar with the matter told Infrastructure Investor that the buyer has decided to acquire only the six road projects from the portfolio and drop the acquisition of the remaining three power projects. One of the sources said the sale is still the largest single deal in the Indian roads sector. All but one of the roads is operational. 

A spokeswoman from Brookfield declined to comment on the transaction. 

India-listed Gammon informed the stock exchange this March that the company sold the stakes in six projects to BIF India, after securing approvals from National Highways Authority of India and respective stakeholders. It received INR3.8 billion ($56.9 million; €50.6 million) in aggregate cash, with the company's consolidated debt to be reduced from INR40 billion to INR26.5 billion after “successful completion of the transaction”.