Adani Green Energy Limited (AGEL) has signed a share purchase agreement to acquire 100% stake in SB Energy India from Soft Bank Group (80%) and Bharti Group (20%).

The transaction marks the largest acquisition in the renewable energy sector in India. The transaction values SB Energy India at an enterprise valuation of about $3.5 billion (~₹260 billion). The transaction is expected to be completed by August 2021.

SB Energy India has a total renewable portfolio of 4,954 MW spread across four states in India.

The target portfolio consists of large-scale utility assets with 84% solar capacity (4,180 MW), 9% wind-solar hybrid capacity (450 MW), and 7% wind capacity (324 MW). The portfolio comprises 1,400 MW operational solar projects and a further 3,554 MW under construction.

With this acquisition, AGEL will achieve a total renewable capacity of 24.3 GW and an operating renewable capacity of 4.9 GW.

All projects have 25-year power purchase agreement with counterparties such as Solar Energy Corporation of India, NTPC, and NHPC, who are government-owned companies. The operating assets are mostly located in solar parks.

According to Mercom India Solar Project Tracker, AGEL has 2.9 GW of operational solar projects and 13.4 GW in the pipeline. While SB Energy has 1.4 GW of operational solar projects and 3.1 GW in the pipeline.

Gautam Adani, Chairman, Adani Group, said, “This acquisition is another step towards the vision we stated in January 2020, wherein we laid out our plans to become the world’s largest solar player by 2025 and thereafter the world’s largest renewable company by 2030. The quality of assets that SoftBank and the Bharti Group have built is excellent, and I compliment their efforts to support India’s renewable energy transition. We are proud to take their legacy forward.”

Adani Green has been on an acquisition spree lately. In March AGEL announced that it would acquire 75 MW of operational solar assets in Telangana from Sterling and Wilson, a Shapoorji Pallonji Group subsidiary, for ₹4.46 billion (~$61.45 million).

The company also signed a share purchase agreement to acquire a 100% stake in a special purpose vehicle holding a 50 MW operating solar project of the Toronto-headquartered SkyPower Global.

According to Mercom Capital Group’s Q1 2021 Solar Funding and M&A Report, nearly 15 GW of solar projects were acquired in Q1 2021. Project acquisitions were led by project developers and independent power producers, followed by investment firms and funds.

In February 2020, French oil and gas major Total entered into an agreement with AGEL to acquire a 50% stake in the joint venture company. The agreement was intended to lead to the transfer of 2.1 GW of AGEL’s operating solar assets to the new joint venture company. AGEL owned the remaining 50% stake. Later in October 2020, AGEL added 205 MW of operational solar projects worth ₹16.32 billion (~$222.9 million) to expand the portfolio of its joint venture to 2.35 GW.

Rahul is a staff reporter at Mercom India. Before entering the world of renewables, Rahul was head of the Gujarat bureau for The Quint. He has also worked for DNA Ahmedabad and Ahmedabad Mirror. Hailing from a banking and finance background, Rahul has also worked for JP Morgan Chase and State Bank of India. More articles from Rahul Nair.