July 2010 - Market Cap of £6bn ; Founded in 1969.
Floated on the LSE in May 2010
Indian parent Company Essar Group comprising Essar Oil & Gas, Essar Power.
Specialising in power generation & oil & gas operations in India

http://www.essarenergy.com/

Has there been any comment by The Sunday Times since they tipped it

It was only last Sunday they tipped this company. This news as I take it only come out today on the RNS. Your not going to invest are you aldwickk. :-))

No , but it could be worth a small punt

Sorry it was tipped 1st Jan, have not seen a article about the tip. Being fair they like all investors had no idea this RNS would come about.

Put £50 in in the morning and it will be a £5 by close. lol . You never know could be a good investment.

In India, Essar fallen 11% today.

this has been a stinker from Day1

Morgan Stanley note:
Yesterday’s court ruling in India could see Essar having to pay up to £650m in tax to the Gujarat state government, which ultimately could lead to default of loans at Essar Oil. This could lead to further defaults for the convertible bond and Stanlow working capital facility. Essar is looking to appeal the Supreme Court’s decision.

What has happened? Essar Oil, a subsidiary 87% owned by Essar Energy, received a negative ruling from the Supreme Court of India yesterday. This relates to a tax benefit for Essar Oil at its refinery facility (Vadinar) in the state of Gujarat. In the 1990s, to encourage investment in the state, Gujarat allowed certain tax holidays. Essar initially started building its refinery in the 1990s, but due to a severe cyclone, this disrupted building, and consequently it was not completed until 2008. The company went to the state high court to be allowed to receive the tax benefit, as it argued that the delay was outside of its control. It was granted this benefit. This decision to reverse at the Supreme Court repeals the state’s high court decision.

What is the tax benefit? Essar Oil is allowed to collect sales tax on goods sold, and does not have to pay this back to the state of Gujarat until 2021 (or until it exhausts its limit, which is Rs91bn).

Can Essar appeal? It believes it can put in a review petition to get the judgment reviewed again. This could take up to three months to get a decision.

How quickly will the tax have to be paid? This is unclear, but could be important. Under the current terms of repayment, the tax should be paid back in six equal annual instalments. The judgment from the Supreme Court is unclear on whether this holds, or whether an immediate payment will be required.

Is Essar Oil in default? Technically yes, but Essar had been negotiating with lenders to reorganize the structure and remove the sales tax issue as a covenant. We expect the lenders to wait to see the outcome from the legal process before taking further action.

Essar Energy is bouncing back after yesterday's sell-off, which was sparked by an Indian tax ruling. Essar Oil , the Essar subsidiary hit by the ruling, is examining all legal options and expects to file a review petition in the Supreme Court within the next 30 days.

. The oil refiner’s shares crashed earlier this week after an Indian court ruled the company can no longer benefit from a tax referral scheme. Having since recovered some of those losses, Essar slid 16.2 to a new low of 120p as Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS - news) cut its price target to 190p from 280p.

“We believe the company’s growth story with a top quality refining asset, attractive exploration and production opportunities in India and large power plants about to be delivered remains attractive,” said analysts. “However, the Supreme Court verdict puts pressure on the company’s liquidity position.”

Analysts at JP Morgan Cazenove one of the banks that brought Essar to market in 2010 were also considering the impact from the ruling. If the sales tax deferral benefit is removed, they estimated that could cut their earnings-per-share estimate for 2011-12 by 44pc to 45pc, but they nonetheless held onto their “overweight” rating.

Bought a few @116.20 , this morning

If Indian law is anything like how's , which I think it is, then they could drag this out though the court's and the payment would be put on hold until a final decision is made . And this would give them time to renegotiate the payment or some other way to settle it.

Yes, aldwickk, but the drawback for investors is apparent.
Look at what happened to VED, in part due to the
interference or procrastination of those who are supposed
to make us believe that the system has become less bureaucratic!

I bought at 116 and sold out @ 123 for a daytrade , EK [Simon C ] did the same for a 10p profit

LONDON (ShareCast) - The share price of India-focused integrated energy company Essar Energy (Dusseldorf: 11224817.DU - news) increased by over a tenth on Monday afternoon after the firm increased its best estimate contingent resources at the Raniganj coal bed methane exploration block. Total (Other OTC: TTFNF.PK - news) proven and probable reserves at the block came in at 113bn cubic feet (bcf) gross, or 18.8m barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe). As such, best estimate contingent resources are now 445 bcf gross, or 74.1mmboe, compared with the previous evaluation, carried out in December 2009, which showed 201bcf gross, or 34mmboe

Morgan Stanley has upgraded ESSR from underweight
to equal-weight and raised the target price from 160p
to 230p.

Trading statement on the 27th Feb. Can't decide if this is the bottom or not.

Bought back in @128.6

Essar Oil files Review Petition with Supreme Court of India
16th February, 2012: Essar Energy plc's [LSE: ESSR] subsidiary Essar Oil Limited today announced that it has today filed a review petition in the Supreme Court seeking a review of the apex court's decision relating to repayment of deferred sales tax. On 17th January, 2012, the Supreme Court had set aside a Gujarat High Court judgement permitting Essar Oil to claim a sales tax deferral benefit from the Gujarat Government.

The Gujarat High Court in an earlier order had extended time to Essar Oil for commencing commercial production from the Vadinar Refinery, thus allowing the Company to benefit from the Gujarat state's Capital Investment Incentive to Premier/Prestigious Unit Scheme, 1995-2000.

Morgan Stanley note:
"ESSR shares price in tough outcomes for both Oil and Power. However, near-term newsflow could be negative for both, and coal supply concerns could still be the next big issue. We upgrade to EW but still see some downside to the shares near term.
We expect Essar to submit a review petition to the Supreme Court within the 30 day time limit following the adverse sales tax ruling of 17 January. Whilst we expect the original decision to be upheld, if the review is granted, a final decision could take a further 60 days. This is the first step in the process of resolving the sales tax issue. We look for further clarity on the potential timeline for repayment of benefit to date to the Gujarat government as well as intentions of lenders at Essar Oil. A final negative Supreme Court judgement could lead to an event of default, under the current terms of agreement for the lenders at Essar Oil – this could lead them to convert debt to equity at Essar Oil. Whilst we expect a restructuring of the existing debt rather than a conversion to equity, there remains the risk of severe dilution of Essar Energy’s 87% stake in Essar Oil.
And we still need clarity on coal: The 1200MW Mahan power station is expected on line by end March 2012. Without the use of its captive coal block, there is still uncertainty as to where coal for the station will come from. Full-year results on 27 February may not provide the answer, leading to more disappointment – it could even signal a further delay for the start-up at Mahan.
We set our price target at 160p, as we weight it 50% bear case 50% base case to reflect the near term risks. The shares price in no value from Mahan and Tori, as well we 50% chance of full dilution at Essar Oil. We would turn more positive if the shares headed closer to our bear case."