Darby Overseas invests $18 m in BPCL

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Bangalore: Darby Overseas Investments, the private equity arm of Franklin Templeton Investments and a provider of mezzanine capital in emerging markets, has announced that its Darby Asia Mezzanine Fund II has invested Rs700 million ($17.8 million) in Bangalore based Bhoruka Power (BPCL). BPCL, part of the Bhrouka Group, specializes in the renewable energy sector and operates small hydro-electric and wind energy power generation projects. As of now, BPCL has 14 power generating units adding up to 89 mw to 100 mw coming from hydel power projects and the balance being generated from wind energy power projects. The company intends to add another 200 mw over the next 4 years from 11 new power-generating units. "Our focus is to sustain our leadership position in this sector as well as to build capacities in the conventional fossil fuel sector. The funds raised will be infused in five power projects that are under development. Four are in Karnataka and one in Haryana. Together they will add 45 mw," said S Chandrashekhar, MD, BPCL. "We are attracted to BPCL because of its strong position in India's rapidly expanding renewable energy sector and its strong execution capabilities," said Richard H. Frank, CEO, Darby. SN Agarwal, chairman, BPCL, said on the investment, "Mezzanine finance is an attractive source of long term capital for us as we pursue our plans for growth." Founded in 1994 by Nicholas F. Brady, Darby became a fully owned subsidiary of Franklin Resources, in 2003. Franklin Resources is a global investment management organization operating as Franklin Templeton Investments.