KUALA LUMPUR, May 28: Malaysian power and gaming group, Tanjong Plc, agreed on Monday to buy control of another seven power plants in Egypt and Asia for $493 million.

Tanjong said its 55-per cent-owned unit, Pendekar Energy (L) Ltd, would buy the assets from Britain's CDC Group for cash.

Tanjong's share of the purchase price would amount to $271 million and would be funded by cash flow and debt.

“The successful bid for these seven power plants enables the Tanjong Group to keep the momentum in the growth of its power generation business,” the company said in a statement.

Trade in its shares was halted before the news. They last traded at 18.20 ringgit, valuing Tanjong at about $2.2 billion.

The seven power plants are in Egypt, where Tanjong already has two power stations, and in Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, Tanjong said.

The seven plants had a total effective installed capacity of 1,434MW, it added.

The largest of the seven was at Sidi Krir, Egypt, with an installed capacity of 683MW. Three others were in Bangladesh, one in Pakistan and two in Sri Lanka. Five are gas-fired, while the two small Sri Lankan plants are oil-fired.

“The plants are governed by power purchase agreements, which will expire between

2012 and 2029,” Tanjong said.

—Reuters