Moser Baer unit to raise 4.11 bln rupees; shares up

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Moser Baer's photovoltaic unit will raise 4.11 billion rupees from a consortium of global investors and may raise another 2 billion rupees by end March to fund growth, a senior official said.

The current capital infusion, which will dilute Moser Baer's stake in the unit by 6.5 percent to 93.5 percent, saw its stock jump by more than 14 percent to 121 rupees in a weak Mumbai market.

"In the past, the demand for photovoltaic was driven by the need for clean form of energy. Now it is driven by economics as it is cost effective potential form of energy," Yogesh Mathur, group chief financial officer, told reporters on Thursday.

The consortium of investors, who injected the current funds, include Nomura, CDC Group, Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley and IDFC, it said in a statement.

Mathur said it was possible that these investors may also fund its next round of capital raising plans.

Moser Baer will use the funds to expand crystalline silicon cell manufacturing capacity to 180 megawatts from 80 megawatts and thin film capacity to 120 megawatts from 40 megawatts.

It has a planned capital expenditure of $400 million for the current financial year to ramp up capacities.

In the next phase of expansion, it plans to add about 500 megawatts more of thin film capacity in a greenfield plant in Chennai.

Mathur said currently most of the photovoltaic unit's earnings are from exports. But with the state governments stressing on greater use of renewable sources of energy, he sees domestic market growing significantly.