Feb 16 (Reuters) - India's Torrent Power said on Monday it will buy a coal-fired power plant operator in northern India from Larsen & Toubro for 68.89 billion rupees ($759.48 million) including debt as it seeks to build capacity in the region.
Larsen & Toubro, whose unit L&T Power Development will execute the deal, will receive 36.61 billion rupees for the sale of plant operator Nabha Power, it said in a separate statement.
Nabha operates a 1,400-megawatt coal-fired plant in India's northern Punjab state and supplies all its electricity to the state power corporation under a 25-year contract.
Torrent said it expects the deal to increase its operational capacity to 6.4 gigawatts from about 5 GW.
The deal adds to Torrent's recent push to scale up its thermal portfolio as power producers move to coal-based power capacity to meet rising electricity demand in India.
Last year, Torrent announced a $2.5 billion coal power project in central India and was evaluating plans to build 5-7 GW of capacity over the next decade.
"The acquisition marks Torrent's entry into the high-growth power market of northern India," Torrent Power's Chairman Samir Mehta said in a statement.
The deal will deliver "a meaningful uplift in the overall revenues and profitability," he added.
($1 = 90.7070 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Yagnoseni Das in Bengaluru; Writing by Abinaya Vijayaraghavan; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Mrigank Dhaniwala)
