Torrent offers to buy three gas areas from Megha
Torrent Gas has offered to buy three city gas retail areas from Hyderabad-based Megha Engineering as its hunger for acquisitions continues unabated.
"We are talking to Torrent for three areas," confirms a Megha source. "Megha received a proposal from Torrent and our board will take a call on this by end of this month."
Megha operates three areas won in CGD-V, which closed in 2015:
- Krishna in Andhra Pradesh
- Tumkur (now renamed Tumakuru) in Karnataka
- Belgaum (renamed Belagavi), also in Karnataka
A well-placed source adds Torrent is in the final stages of talks with Megha. "Torrent has deep pockets and is on a rapid expansion drive through the acquisition of smaller players," he explains.
"So far, Torrent is pleased with the performance of the small CGD players it has acquired and wants to acquire more." Torrent is also said to be keenly interested in taking over the Solapur area won by Chennai based IMC (Indian Molasses Company) in CGD-VII, which closed in 2016.
But IMC vice-president Vimal Chopra, when contacted, refused to comment. "Don't talk about all these things to us," he said.
"We are not interested in discussing it." Another IMC source added: "Frankly, I have no idea, if there are any talks, it would be at the owner level."
Torrent is also talking to Haryana City Gas, which operates the Hisar and Jhajjar districts in Haryana and Puducherry near Tamil Nadu, won in CGD-IX in 2018 as well as Bhiwadi in Rajasthan's Alwar district, awarded to Haryana City Gas before the government set up the PNGRB in 2007.