Trinity Capital Regulatory News (TRC)

23 Jan 2007 07:01

Trinity Capital PLC23 January 2007 For Immediate Release Trinity Capital PLC ("Trinity") Announces Strategic Stake in Pipavav Shipyard Limited Trinity is pleased to announce that it has agreed to acquire a strategicshareholding for £13.1m in Pipavav Shipyard Limited ("PSL"), which is owned bySKIL Infrastructure Limited ("SKIL"), one of India's leading infrastructuredevelopers. PSL will build the largest Indian integrated ship building yard nearthe Pipavav port in the state of Gujarat. This acquisition represents the second investment under Trinity's strategicpartnership with IL&FS to co-invest in the Indian infrastructure sector andcollectively represents 35% of the committed amount. Other investors in theproject include financial institutions such as IL&FS and EXIM Bank (one of thelargest institutions in India for financing, facilitating and promoting thecountries foreign trade.) As part of this transaction, Trinity will receive right of first refusal toreal-estate opportunities in a proposed 150 acre township development in thevicinity of the ship yard. The township will provide housing, recreationalfacilities, schools, hospitals and commercial office space for a workforce thatis expected to rapidly expand over the next few years. Upon completion, theshipyard is expected to employ over 4,000 people. In addition, the region alsohouses Ultra Tech's largest cement factory; and there are plans for twosubstantial power plants as well as a new container terminal at the port. Thisdevelopment therefore is targeted towards the needs of a captive market. Given the expectation of continued economic growth, the real estate opportunityfor Trinity is significant. It will address the acute lack of housing for middleand higher income groups working in the area and will seek to leverage on allthe development opportunities associated with a rapidly expanding commercial andresidential community. Currently, there is no formal housing in the area andemployees regularly commute from cities located at least 25 km from the port. Bycomparison the proposed township development is within 18 km of the port. The PSL project will be the fifth largest shipyard in the world and will bedesigned to handle ships of all sizes. The Indian Government has identified thedevelopment of new shipyards as a key area for future economic growth. A projectof this scale will support the economic growth of the Pipavav area over thelong-term. SKIL is India's leading private infrastructure development company and has awell established track record of successfully developing large transportationand logistics projects. Developments include over £100m in Pipavav Port, a £43m50:50 joint venture in Pipavav Railway with the Ministry of Railways and theMumbai Special Economic Zone (MSEZ) where SKIL structured the first greenfieldSEZ project in India with an estimated capital outlay of £ 2.8 bn. Aashish Kalra, Managing Director of Trikona Capital, said: "Our participation inthis deal represents a key strategic investment that will give Trinity exposureto an important area of economic growth. A project of this size and importancewill increase economic activity in the region and this will result in asignificant number of exciting real estate development opportunities." ENDS Enquiries: Trikona Capital Aashish Kalra +91 11 2620 7257 Cardew Group Tim Robertson +44 20 7930 0777 Sofia Rehman (London) Gutenberg Communications Harjiv Singh (New York) +1 917 623 7793 Pranav Kumar (Delhi) +91 98100 77898 Numis Iain McDonald +44 20 7776 1567 Notes: • For further information and regular updates regarding the Fund's activities, please log on and sign up for news alerts at www.trinityplc.com This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange