Mechelenergo, affiliated with Mechel, acquired 93.35% of the shares of the Southern Kuzbass power plant for 6.9 billion rubles (about $265 million), the holding company said in a statement.
"The acquisition of the Southern Kuzbass Power Plant is in line with Mechel's strategy to further develop its mining segment. The objective of acquiring the Southern Kuzbass Power Plant is to increase Mechel's performance through the possibility of producing a high value added product in the form of electric power using Mechel's own steam coal," the statement said.
According to the statement, the acquisition of the new power generating asset also aims to develop the power component of Mechel's business, raise the company's capitalization and make additional profit from marketing generated electric and heat energy.
The Southern Kuzbass power plant, located in the town of Kaltan, Kemerovo Region, has an installed electric power capacity of 554 MWt and heat power capacity of 560 Gcal/h as of January 1, 2007, the company said.
