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Non-availability of data room may delay DPC due diligence

Eight prospective bidders who had submitted their 'expression of interest' letter last week for buying out the 85 per cent stake of foreign owners in Dabhol Power Company are yet to finalise the date to start the due diligence process in London due to non-availability of the data room there.

According to sources close to the bidding process, data rooms in London are not yet ready.

Though two to three warehouses, having areas of 100,000 sq mt each, were full of data related to the DPC project promoted by the Enron Corporation of USA, "it would be near impossible to complete the due diligence process in 3 to 7 days as offered to the bidders by the financial institution-cum-facilitator, Industrial Development Bank of India.

"Such a short period for the huge data available at the warehouses would not do justice to the process of evaluation of pricing for taking over the multi-billion 2,184 mw power plant at Ratnagiri district in Maharashtra," they said.

The sources said the entire process of finding out a suitable buyer for the beleaguered DPC should be done in a fair and transparent manner so that the buyer should have the proven track records of running and maintaining power plants on international standard levels.

First of all, the Centre and state governments along with the Maharashtra State Elcetricity Board should work out an incentive package to sell electricity from the plants at a reasonable rate.

Among the eight bidders, four are Indian firms--Tata Power, BSES, Gas Authority of India Ltd and Reliance Industries, while the foreign companies in fray were--Royal Dutch Shell, British Gas, Gaz de France and Totalfina Elf.

Earlier sources in the financial institutions had claimed that the entire bidding and due diligence processes would be completed by March but now it seems difficult to arrive at any final decision on the selection of a suitable bidder before the end of current financial year.

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