RPower founders raise $275 million from share sale

An electric pylon carrying high tension wires is pictured in front of a residential complex in New Delhi July 31, 2012.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Reliance Power's(RPOL.NS) founder companies have raised 15 billion rupees by selling a 5.42 percent stake in the Indian firm, Reliance said on Wednesday.

The sale helps India's No. 2 power producer to meet a regulatory requirement mandating listed companies to make at least a quarter of their equity available for public trading.

Billionaire Anil Ambani's group companies including Reliance Infrastructure (RLIN.NS) sold a total 152 million shares at 95 rupees apiece, Reliance said, a 3 percent discount to Wednesday's closing price.

India's market regulator has asked all publicly-listed companies to ensure by June 2013 a minimum public float of 25 percent, a change that will force many controlling shareholders to pare their holdings.

Reliance Power's share sale was subscribed 1.6 times despite the challenges facing India's power generation sector, where fuel shortages have forced many plants to run below capacity.

Reliance Power, India's second-largest power producer by market value, has two projects totaling 6,400 mega-watts at risk due to the scarcity of cheap fuel and might lose one of those due to a legal wrangle with four state governments.

(Reporting by Sanjeev Choudhary and Manoj Dharra; Editing by Catherine Evans)