(Bloomberg) -- Pakistani business tycoon Hussain Dawood's Engro Energy sold its coal mining and power generation business that has been a key source of cheap energy in the nation for the past five years.
Engro sold its thermal unit to Liberty Power Holding Pvt. and a consortium of three partner companies for 34.75 billion rupees ($125 million). According to Karachi-based brokerage house Topline Securities this is one of the largest acquisitions in Pakistan's recent history.
Dawood was instrumental in exploring Pakistan's coal reserves, one of the largest lignite coal deposits globally, as part of Chinese President Xi Jinping's Belt and Road Initiative launched in 2013. Pakistan is one of the main investment targets of China's infrastructure export drive, with $25 billion worth of power plants and other projects completed since its inception.
Engro is one of the country's biggest business groups, active in sectors including fertilizer manufacturing, chemicals and telecoms. Dawood sold the subsidiary Hub Power Co. in 2018, which runs a 1,200 megawatt oil-fired power plant. The sale of the thermal assets will help Engro optimize capital and resource allocation, according to the statement.
The parent company Engro Corp.'s shares closed at record 0.83%.
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