Latest news with #AyalaCorporation-owned
Mint
a day ago
- Business
- Mint
Six bidders shortlisted for $600 million Vibrant Energy deal
New Delhi: Six bidders have been shortlisted to conduct due diligence for Vibrant Energy, Macquarie Asset Management's Green Investment Group (GIG) platform, two people aware of the development said. Among the bidders are Singapore's Sembcorp Industries Ltd, Torrent Power Ltd, INOXGFL Group's Inox Green Energy Services Ltd, and General Atlantic-owned Actis LLP, the people said on condition of anonymity. The deal for the commercial and industrial (C&I) platform, in a transaction called Project Notos, has an enterprise value of around $600 million and an equity value of around $300 million. About a dozen bidders had submitted non-binding offers or NBOs–initial offers that do not legally commit to a purchase–for the transaction process being run by Standard Chartered. Among these was a joint bid from Bain Capital and Jindal Stainless Ltd (JSL). Vibrant Energy has come back on the block after Macquarie Asset Management dropped its earlier sale process, which was being run in 2023 by JP Morgan, over valuation mismatch. The platform has 795-megawatt (MW) capacity, of which 491 MW is operational and 304 MW is under construction. With a pipeline of 542 MW ready to begin construction, the plan is to have a 1.33 gigawatt (GW) operational capacity by FY27. 'The second phase of the transaction is starting. Once the due diligence is over, the shortlisted bidders will submit their binding bids. The last large renewable energy platform complete sale in the space by asset size was O2 Power," one of the two people cited above said. O2 Power, which was owned by European alternative asset manager EQT and Singapore's Temasek and has a 4.69 GW portfolio, was sold to JSW Group's JSW Neo Energy for an enterprise value of $1.47 billion. The deal was announced last December. An Actis spokesperson in an emailed response said, 'We can't comment on deal speculation." Actis LLP had earlier bought Macquarie's green energy platform Stride Climate Investments with a 371 MW portfolio, in a deal having an enterprise value of $325 million. Spokespersons for Macquarie Group Limited, Standard Chartered, and Bain Capital declined to comment. Queries emailed to the spokespersons of Torrent Power, Sembcorp, and Inox Green on Wednesday remained unanswered till press time. Queries emailed to a Jindal Stainless Ltd spokesperson on Thursday weren't immediately answered. Deals aplenty There have been several deals in this space, as reported byMintearlier. In June 2025, Japan's financial services firm Orix Corp. sold its 17.5% stake in Greenko Energy Holdings to AM Green B.V., owned by Greenko Group founders Anil Chalamalasetty and Mahesh Kolli. Earlier, Hexa Climate Solutions acquired Fortum India Pvt Ltd (FIPL) in April 2025, and ONGC NTPC Green Private Limited (ONGPL) bought National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF)-backed Ayana Renewable Power Pvt Ltd in February 2025. Further, the joint venture between the Philippines' Ayala Corporation-owned ACEN and UPC Renewables is planning to sell a significant stake in its upcoming 1 GW projects in India, according to a 27 June 2025 Mint report. Macquarie Group, one of the largest foreign infrastructure investors in India, has been investing in the country's infrastructure space since 2008. So far, it has pumped in $2.5 billion in equity capital in energy transition, infrastructure and digital communications. Macquarie Asset Management has also tasked EY to find an investor for a $200-million equity fund raise for its Indian fleet electrification platform Vertelo that provides electric vehicle (EV) fleet management services, charging infrastructure, leasing and financing, and end-of-vehicle life management services in the country, as reported byMintearlier. Why the interest India's C&I segment has attracted strong investor interest, driven by the country's projected green energy trajectory, with peak demand of 270 gigawatt (GW) projected this year by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA). Rules allowing large power users to source energy from the open market rather than the costlier grid have also helped. C&I projects are also shielded from risks such as power procurement curtailment by state-run power distribution firms. An Icra report in June pointed to a favourable demand outlook for renewable energy capacity in the C&I segment due to competitive tariffs, large sustainability commitments and supportive government policies on moving towards net zero by 2070. 'Leading C&I entities, primarily from sectors like steel, aluminium, cement, IT and data centres, have committed to clean energy targets for minimising fossil fuel reliance and accelerating their decarbonisation goals," Icra said in the report, adding that RE developers can offer 24-40% savings under the captive mode due to lower tariffs compared to industrial tariffs. However, it also sounded a note of caution. 'The recent reduction in energy charges and rise in fixed charges by Karnataka distribution utilities (discoms), if replicated across states, could dampen the competitiveness of open access RE and pose a headwind for future growth," the Icra report added. India has an installed renewable energy capacity of 226.9 GW; of which solar and wind power account for 110.9 GW and 51.3 GW, respectively. India's playbook is to add 50GW of green energy capacity annually to reach 500GW renewable capacity by 2030.
Mint
27-06-2025
- Business
- Mint
Ayala, UPC Renewables JV to sell stake in 1 GW projects in $600 mn deal
New Delhi: The joint venture between the Philippines' Ayala Corporation-owned ACEN and UPC Renewables plans to sell a significant stake in its upcoming 1 gigawatt projects in India in a deal potentially valued at an enterprise value of around $600 million, said two people aware of the development. The transaction involves offloading up to 74% stake in three utility-scale renewable energy projects in India, the people said on the condition of anonymity. EY is running the sale process for the deal with an equity value of around $200 million, they said. 'The next stage involves signing of non-disclosure agreements, sharing of financial model and information memorandum, followed by management discussions and submission of non-binding offers,' one of the people quoted earlier said. 'Then the shortlisted bidders will be called to submit their binding bids.' The projects include a 420 megawatt (MW) solar project in Barmer region of Rajasthan, a 100 MW wind project in Karnataka; and a 520 MW wind and solar hybrid project to be commissioned by 2027. While ACEN has an operational 3.3 gigawatt (GW) portfolio and another 3.7 GW under development globally, UPC Renewables has 10 GW of installed capacity, with 7 GW of assets under development. Their joint venture India green energy platform—UPC Renewables India—has an operational capacity of 630 MW, comprising 420 MW Masaya Solar in Madhya Pradesh, 70 MW Paryapt Solar in Gujarat and 140 MW Sitara Solar in Rajasthan. In an emailed response, an EY spokesperson said, 'We cannot comment on company-specific matters.' Queries emailed to the spokespersons of Ayala Corp., ACEN, UPC Renewables late on Wednesday night, and UPC Renewables India on Thursday morning remained unanswered till press time. The JV platform has already started work on these upcoming projects. 'ACEN, in partnership with UPC Renewables, has commenced construction of two major renewable energy projects in India: a 420 MW solar farm in Rajasthan and a 120 MW wind farm in Karnataka,' the companies said in a statement on Wednesday. 'We are thrilled to kick off the second phase of growth for UPC India's platform with the construction of these 500 MW+ solar and wind projects. The projects are part of a broader pipeline of 1 GWp+ RE projects, which we aim to deliver over the next two years and play a meaningful role in India's green energy transition,' said Alok Nigam, CEO, UPC Renewables India, in the statement. India's green energy sector has witnessed tremendous interest, given the country's clean energy transition trajectory. The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) has projected a peak demand of 270 GW this year, up from an all-time high of 250 GW recorded on 30 May last year. India has an installed renewable energy capacity of 226.9 GW, of which solar and wind power account for 110.9 GW and 51.3 GW, respectively. India targets to add 50 GW of green energy capacity annually to reach 500 GW by 2030. However, the industry also faces emerging concerns. Solar energy tariffs fell, and power demand in India's top six industrialized states flattened in April and cooled in May. The sector also faces power transmission evacuation constraints, while states are not inking power purchase and supply agreements for awarded projects due to a drop in tariffs in the subsequent bids. In May, power exchanges observed an unprecedented market bifurcation: spot prices for electricity during solar hours plummeted to ₹ 0/unit, while non-solar peak hour prices grazed the ₹ 10/unit ceiling, according an SBI Capital Markets Ltd's May report. 'This divergence highlights an extreme case for the economic viability and practical necessity of ESS (energy storage system). Recognising this, pure solar tenders <50% of RE tenders issued in FY25, a significant decrease from 78% in FY20. However, despite over 150 GWh of BESS tenders being floated to date, only a negligible portion has reached completion.' Mint earlier reported that about renewable power capacity totalling nearly 30 GW has failed to find buyers; with a capacity of at least 15GW is yet to find PPAs, while at least 14GW is awaiting PSAs. Ratings agency Icra had said that India's power demand in FY26 may grow 5-5.5%. While it's higher than 4.2% in FY25, it would be slower than the 7-9% growth seen in the period FY22 to FY24, the period following the pandemic. Given that solar and wind are infirm sources of energy, a renewable capacity of 500 GW by 2030 without adequate storage can threaten the grid's stability in case of generation outages due to cloud cover, rain, or a drop in wind speed. The national power grid has been facing warnings due to the sudden dip in solar power generation, leading to several instances of grid frequency dropping. Any sudden change in the demand pattern impacts the grid frequency. 'On the transmission side, a long-term strategy for evacuation infrastructure is being implemented under the country's National Electric Plan. Any material delays could lead to bottlenecks and potential power curtailment,' Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC wrote in a 4 June report. 'In renewable energy, to address the intermittency of power supply, there is a transition towards hybrid or storage-backed capacities, which facilitates scheduling of power round-the-clock with greater confidence. Of the ~75 GW capacity to be added in this and next fiscal, hybrids will account for ~37%,' wrote Crisil Ratings in a 9 June report. 'In renewables, the timely availability of evacuation infrastructure is critical. To be sure, a significant ramp-up in transmission capacity is underway with a total capital expenditure (capex) of ~ ₹ 1 lakh crore in this fiscal and next, twice of what was seen in the preceding two fiscals. These projects may face delays on account of right-of-way issues, delayed approvals or short supply of equipment such as transformers and high-voltage direct current components. Further, as renewable capacities typically take much less time to be set up, transmission capacity may fall short temporarily,' Crisil said. Then there is the question of huge funding requirements in India's green energy transition. 'India will require an estimated US$1.3 trillion in cumulative clean power investment by 2035 to meet its 2070 net-zero target. In 2024, renewables investment rose by 17% to US$33 bn and is expected to grow another 12% in 2025,' Kotak Institutional Equities research wrote in a 20 June report.
