Sprng Energy Buys 194-MW Solar Assets from Shapoorji Pallonji

The deal size has not been disclosed. However, media reports suggest that solar asset’s enterprise value is close to $200 Million or over Rs. 1380 crores, and equity payout close to $70 million or Rs 484 crore rupees has been made last week.

“A year ago, we decided to divest a part of our operating portfolio in order to redeploy capital for the development of new solar projects. We continue to see large opportunities for the growth of the renewable sector in our country, and the sale to a discerning infrastructure investor highlights our commitment towards development and operation of high quality renewable energy projects in India,” said Mukundan Srinivasan, MD and CEO of SP Infra. “The acquisition of this portfolio is in line with Actis’ commitment of building 2GW+ of renewable power projects in India. With this acquisition, the total operating and under-construction capacity of Sprng Energy, our 100 per cent owned renewable platform, will increase to 1,650 MW and we continue to look for opportunities to grow this portfolio further through both M&A and new bids” said Sanjiv Aggarwal, Partner Energy Asia, Actis.

Read: The list- 10 of the largest Solar Plants in India

Sprng is Actis’ second India renewable focused platform after successfully building and exiting Ostro Energy.

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The deal for the Shapoorji’s assets that have been up for sale since 2017, and marks the first acquisition by one of India’s largest clean energy platforms. The Shapoorji Pallonji Group last year announced its plans to seek about $1 billion by bringing outside investors into its solar unit, through a series of asset sales (400 MW) to reduce debt.

The acquisition comes after Actis sold its first green energy firm Ostro Energy to ReNew Power Ventures at an enterprise value of $1.5 billion last year. With this acquisition, Sprng has a 1.65 gigawatts (GW) portfolio, of which 1.45GW is under various stages of construction. Actis has plans to grow Sprng Energy to 2GW, has committed $2.1 billion to India and has been operating in the energy, financial services and real estate sectors.

Whereas, Sprng has a total equity commitment of $475 million from Actis to build and operate more than 2GW of wind and solar projects in India.

For SP Infra, part of the leading construction conglomerate, the specific assets sold under the deal have not been mentioned. The firm currently has solar assets spread across 4 states currently, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Telangana, Karnataka and Rajasthan.  Besides these, is also has an intenational presence, with projects on line or under development in Kenya, Vietnam, Bangladesh and Egypt.

Group company Sterling and Wilson also has a presence in the solar sector as a significant EPC player.

Published with permission from Saur Energy