UPDATE 1-India GVK Power to sell shares for $150 mln-sources
* To launch sale two days after rival pulled offer
* Sale size scaled down from an original plan-sources (Adds details)
By Nishant Kumar and Narayanan Somasundaram
MUMBAI, July 2 (Reuters) - India's GVK Power & Infrastructure Ltd (GVKP.BO) plans to sell shares worth up to $150 million, three sources with direct knowledge of the deal said on Thursday, two days after a rival pulled an offer due to weak demand.
"We expect to launch the deal later in the day," one banker involved in the deal said, confirming information from two fund managers who may invest in the offer.
GVK, part of a consortium rebuilding Mumbai's airport, is also building power plants in three states with combined generation capacity of more than 2,000 megawatts.
IDFC-SSKI, JPMorgan (JPM.N), Kotak Mahindra Capital Co, the former Indian partner of Goldman Sachs (GS.N) and Macquarie (MQG.AX) are among the arrangers for the issue, the sources said.
The offering to institutions has, however, been scaled down from an original plan, they said.
GMR Infrastructure, part of the GMR-led consortium that is rebuilding the New Delhi airport, on Tuesday cancelled a $100 million share sale after initially slashing the size by four-fifths, citing adverse market conditions.
A flurry of share sales had soured demand for GMR, which was the only one to drop out among at least five companies that had launched share offers on Monday for a total of nearly $2 billion. [ID:nBOM344747]
Share sales revived in April after a 15-month break as a sharp stock market rally revived investor appetite. Companies have raised more than $3 billion in equity sales this year.
The benchmark BSE stock index .BSESN leapt almost half in April-June, its biggest quarterly gain in 17 years, on hopes for an economic recovery and a market-friendly budget next Monday.
Foreigners ploughed about $8 billion into Indian stocks over three months from mid-March, but they have been taking profits in the past two weeks pulling out about $650 million.
Shares in GVK, which has a market value of $1.2 billion, ended 1.7 percent higher at 41.70 rupees in a flat Mumbai market. The stock has gained 87 percent this year after falling 72 percent in 2008. (Editing by Ranjit Gangadharan)
