O2 Power, Ayana in fray to buy 305MW solar assets of Azure

The potential deal is valued at about $200 million, with the gross sales course of for Worldwide Finance Company (IFC) and Canadian pension fund Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) backed Azure Energy’ belongings being run by Avendus Capital.

This comes towards the backdrop of EverSource Capital’s plan to purchase out the whole 167 MW photo voltaic rooftop portfolio of Azure as reported by Mint earlier, in what might rank among the many largest photo voltaic rooftop offers in India.

Buyers’ curiosity in India’s inexperienced vitality house continues, with the nation’s electrical energy demand catching up with pre-covid ranges. Additionally, an anticipated robust electrical energy demand development trajectory, as a result of efforts corresponding to leveraging energy for cooking, are attracting traders. India goals to have 175 GW of fresh vitality capability by 2022, together with 100GW from photo voltaic tasks.

Mint earlier reported about non-public fairness traders KKR and Actis Plc in talks to accumulate these photo voltaic belongings, with others corresponding to Ayana, O2, Brookfield and Edelweiss additionally having proven curiosity in the identical.

Nathan Choose, head of investor relations, Azure Energy, in an emailed response declined remark.

Shivanand Nimbargi, managing director and chief government officer of Ayana Renewable Energy declined remark.

Queries emailed to an O2 Energy spokesperson on late Thursday night remained unanswered.

An Avendus Capital spokesperson in an emailed response , “As a matter of coverage, we don’t touch upon queries of this nature.”

Azure Energy has a 7 GW portfolio. The World Financial institution’s non-public sector improvement arm Worldwide Finance Company (IFC) and German improvement finance establishment Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft (DEG) are among the many different traders in Azure Energy, India’s first renewable vitality firm to listing on the US inventory market.

“O2 Energy and Ayana are the ultimate ones left, with the deal anticipated to be introduced shortly. The deal is predicted to have an enterprise worth of upwards of $200 million,” stated one of many two individuals cited above requesting anonymity.

O2 Energy is a $500-million renewable vitality platform in India that’s focusing on round four GW of photo voltaic and wind belongings. Based by former ReNew Energy executives—Parag Sharma, Peeyush Mohit, Rakesh Garg and Nimish Agrwal—O2 Energy has already bagged a 1 GW portfolio.

““Actis isn’t fascinated by these (Azure Energy) belongings now,” stated a second particular person cited above who additionally didn’t wish to be named.

Ayana’ focus areas are the Indian states of Bihar, Odisha and Assam, and South Asian international locations corresponding to Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar and Sri Lanka. It lately positioned the third lowest bid of Rs2.38 per unit every throughout an public sale carried out by state-run Photo voltaic Power Company of India Ltd (Seci) that noticed India’s solar energy tariffs hitting a document low of Rs2.36 per unit. In accordance with data out there on its web site, it has an 800 MW photo voltaic portfolio in Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan.

The deal exercise in India’s clear vitality house continues unabated regardless of being impacted by the coronavirus pandemic and points corresponding to energy procurement curtailment, tariff-shopping by distribution firms (discoms) and unavailability of lenders. Additionally, funds delay and transmission and connectivity associated challenges persist.

Among the offers in play as reported by Mint embody Canada Pension Plan Funding Board, Actis Llp and Brookfield Asset Administration Inc. seeking to purchase Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp’s stake in SB Power Holding, that has a 7.7 GW Indian photo voltaic portfolio.

Additionally, in what might rank among the many largest inexperienced vitality offers in India, Acme Photo voltaic Holdings Ltd. is seeking to promote four.84 GW of photo voltaic tasks. Malaysia’s state-run oil and gasoline firm, Petroliam Nasional Bhd, or Petronas, can also be seeking to purchase round 10% stake in Tata Energy Renewable Power Ltd, along with investing in Tata Energy’ renewable vitality infrastructure funding belief (InvIT).

Japan’s ORIX Corp. lately made the single-largest international clear vitality funding announcement of $980 million in India for purchasing a 17% stake in Greenko Power Holdings.