a day ago
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.
