TPG, which owns close to 50% stake in the business, is looking to completely exit the company through this transaction, the sources added. The incoming investor will also bring in some fresh capital to fund the growth plans of the company, which include growing its asset base to up to 3.5 gigawatts (GW) by 2025.
“Petronas, Sun Energy and Vitol have submitted non-binding offers and are doing diligence on the company’s assets. A few other investors had also looked at the asset earlier, but these three are the ones left in the race now,” said one of the sources cited above.
Petronas owns Amplus Solar in India that has an operating portfolio of 1.5 GW of renewable assets. Vitol owns around 1.2 GW of renewable assets, while Indonesia-based Sun Energy has installed over 280 MW of renewable power capacity for corporate clients.
Norfund, a Norway government sponsored investment fund, which invested $100 million in the company in 2021, will continue to hold its stake, the source added.
In August, Norfund invested ₹350 crore into the company. TPG first entered the company in 2018 investing $70 million.Fourth Partner Energy had an operating portfolio of 685 megawatts (MW) as of March 2023 growing from 248 MW as of September 2021, according to a report by credit rating agency Icra.The operating portfolio is expected to reach 1,358 MW in the near to medium term, the report noted.
Fourth Partner Energy posted revenues of ₹1,018 crore in FY22, up from ₹459 crore in the previous year. It reported a net profit of ₹7 crore in FY22, rising from ₹53 lakh in the previous year. TPG, Norfund and Vitol declined to comment. Emails sent to Petronas and Sun Energy did not elicit a response.
“Fourth Partner Energy is in the midst of fund-raising and as it is an on-going process – we will not be able to comment on any particulars at this juncture,” said a spokesperson for Fourth Partner Energy. Renewable energy companies that supply clean energy to commercial and industrial (C&I) establishments have been attracting strong investor interest lately.
In June, Canadian investor Brookfield invested $360 million in CleanMax Enviro Energy Solutions, a Mumbai-based C&I renewable energy company, acquiring a majority stake in the company. At the time, the company managed 1.6 GW of operating wind and solar projects and supplied clean energy to over 350 corporate customers.
ET reported on August 31 that Australian investor Macquarie-owned C&I platform Vibrant Energy has seen acquisition interest from Sun Energy and Vitol, among others. The deal is likely to value Vibrant at an equity value of around $200 million, ET reported.
The C&I renewables market in India is expected to grow by 47GW over the next five years, said a recent report from energy analyst firm Bridge To India. Corporate customers account for 51% of the country’s total consumption, the report said.
