CVC International, a Citigroup company, has decided to pick up a 14.5 per cent stake in the Monnet group, which is the merged entity of Monnet Ispat and Monnet Power, for Rs45 crores.

Under the agreement, CVC will get 35 lakh Monnet Ispat equity shares of Rs10 each, at a premium of Rs90 per share, and 98 lakh equity shares of Monnet Power with a face value of Rs10 each.

According to Ajay Bhatt, chief financial officer, Monnet group, "Monnet''s move to offload the 14.5 per cent equity to CVC is part of the Rs235 crore expansion programme outlined by the company." Monnet is planning to expand its sponge iron capacity to about 7.5 lakh tonnes and power generation capacity to 75 MW. He said that out of the total investment of Rs235 crore, Rs150 crore would be raised from the market as debt, while the rest would be funded from internal accruals.