(From left to right) TCG chief Purnendu Chatterjee, HPL chairman Tarun Das, Bengal industry secretary Sabyasachi Sen and WBIDC managing director Gopal Krishna in Calcutta on Tuesday. A Telegraph picture

Calcutta, July 20: Purnendu Chatterjee, one of Haldia Petrochemicals’ (HPL) principal promoters, will bring in fresh equity of Rs 143 crore by July 31 to switch on the debt restructuring package approved by Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI) and other lenders.

The package requires Rs 600 crore to be pumped in as fresh equity by December 31. “Once Chatterjee puts in the money, we will initiate talks with Gail (India) and start working on an initial public offering that will raise Rs 457 crore in equity,” chairman Tarun Das told reporters after the company’s board meeting here today.

HPL’s equity is Rs 1153 crore, which will go up to Rs 1753 crore after the fresh funds come in; the debt-equity ratio will come down from 4.5:1 to 1.5:1. The firm is poised for its first-ever profit, of Rs 100 crore, in 2003-04.

Once the debt-restructuring package is set in motion, the company can approach Gail for investments, Das added. The ‘mini navratna’ was to bring in funds by March 31, but held back because it wanted the debt-recast process to be implemented first. Gail had shown an interest in joining the Rs 5,170-crore petrochem company with a Rs 332-crore equity infusion.

On the IPO, Das said the book-built issue could pan out in October. The size is not known, but merchant banking sources put it in the region of Rs 300-Rs 500 crore.

Asked what his stake would be once he brings in the promised Rs 143 crore, Purnendu said: “We have not yet calculated it. But it will be close to 50 per cent.” Purnendu’s The Chatterjee Group holds 43 per cent in Haldia Petrochem, the Bengal government just as much, while the remaining 14 per cent is with the Tatas.

The Tatas have expressed their willingness to leave, but Das persuaded them to stay on with a 4 per cent stake. Bengal commerce and industry secretary Sabyasachi Sen said the Tatas would transfer their shares to the government, which has the first right of refusal.

Das said he has invited Ratan Tata and Jamshyd Godrej to join the 16-member HPL board. The Tata boss had stepped down as director, his place taken by group officials. “We want to bring the two before the IPO,” he added.