Mumbai, Aug 21 (UNI) The Ruias-run Essar Oil Limited (EOL) today said that the controlling shareholders of compnay 'Essar Energy Holdings Limited' and Oil Bidco (Mauritius) Limited, have completed sale of its India assets to the Russian government controlled Rosneft-led consortium for USD 12.9 billion. Both Essar Energy Holdings Limited' and Oil Bidco (Mauritius) Limited incorporated and managed under the laws of Mauritius. company release said Russia's largest oil producer Rosneft said yesterday that it had successfully closed a deal to buy a 49.13 per cent stake in Essar Oil Ltd.The remaining 1.74 percent stake continues to be held by retail shareholders. An investment consortium comprising Trafigura and UCP has also announced the closure of their acquisition of a separate 49.13 percent share of Essar Oil. The deal comes more than 10 months after it was announced on October 15 last year on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Goa. According to Essar Energy, the deal includes sale of its 20 million tonne refinery at Vadinar in Gujarat, a captive power plant and captive port as well as over 3,500 petrol pumps as well as the associated refinery infrastructure. The transaction perimeter also includes the Vadinar Port (capacity of 58 million tonnes with world-class dispatch and storage facilities) and the Vadinar power plant (a 1,010 MW state-of-the art, multi-fuel unit that supplies both power and steam to the Vadinar refinery). The Essar Oil-Rosneft deal is the largest foreign direct investment (FDI) into the country till date and also the largest outbound investment from Russia. The company director, Prashant Ruia, said 'With this deal, we have completed our monetisation and deleveraging programme, which is the largest undertaken by any corporate in recent years. We have substantially deleveraged our portfolio companies’ balance sheets, reducing debt by over US$ 11 billion (Rs 70,000 crore). With the completion of our capex programme, we now look forward to a period of growth in our wider portfolio of businesses.' Essar Founder Mr Shashi Ruia said 'Today is a historic day for Indo-Russian economic ties. This transaction reflects the shared vision of two of the world’s most dynamic leaders. I congratulate Rosneft, Trafigura and UCP for investing in a world-class oil business, which we are proud to have built. For Essar, the closure of this landmark transaction ushers in a new phase of growth across our portfolio of businesses that hold great promise in India’s enduring development story.' UNI JS NV AW SHK 1644