Indian company GVK Power has bought a stake in Australian company Hancock Group for $1.26 billion. The Hancock Group is owned by Gina Rinehart and the Indian company is investing in it to secure energy supplies for its future power plants.
Gina Rinehart will also join the board of directors of GVK Power and Infrastructure after the sale. Her father set up the Hancock Group and after inheriting the company she has become the richest woman in Australia.
The chairman of the GVK Group Mr. GVK Reddy said that the purchase of 3 coal mines, a railway line and port project slinking the coal projects in the state of Queensland involved truly world class coal assets in both quality and scale.
Mr Reddy said that the Australian project were together one of the largest integrated coal development projects in the world. This acquisition builds a strong resource business for GVK, he said. They will now be able to increase the capacity of their coal power business with an assured in-house supply of raw material.
The GVK Group will gain 79% stake in the Alpha and Alpha West coal mines located in the Galilee Basin. They will buy Kevin’s Corner coal mine and the rail and port project connecting the coal mines outright as per the statement that they released on Friday. At full production the three coal projects are together expected to supply about 84 million tons per annum to the global sea-borne coal market, the statement added.