Mumbai: Highly diversified Mumbai-based Essar Group, which is into steel, power, shipping, ports, logistics, refining, exploration and production, finance and telecommunications, is likely to go in for an $8 billion listing on the London Stock Exchange.
Reacting to a report in a London daily that a group holding company would seek the UK listing, an Essar spokesman said, "The Essar Group is always looking at a range of different funding options, but has not yet made any specific decision with regard to its future financing. We work with a range of financial advisors for assistance."
Listing in the UK would provide overseas hedge funds and foreign institutional investors with an opportunity to participate in the equity of the entire Essar conglomerate of various subsidiaries, and to have a lower currency risk vis-à-vis their other investments in India.
Essar had recently acquired the US-based Trinity Coal for $600 million, thus producing substantial captive work for its shipping arm to transport coal from the US for the use of numerous coal-fired power plants in India.
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