Telecommunications giant Bharti Airtel said it signed an agreement to acquire equity shares in Avaada MHBuldhana Private Limited- a special purpose vehicle (SPV) for solar projects. The SPV was formed for owning and operating a captive solar power project in Maharashtra.

Avaada Energy Private Limited (AEPL) is the parent company of this SPV. Avaada MHBuldhana Private Limited is a newly-formed company developing a captive solar project that will become operational by March 2021.

As part of the agreement, Airtel acquired 5.20% equity shares for ₹45 million (~$606,990) through the subscription of 4,550,000 equity shares valued at ₹10 ($0.13) in tranches.

According to Mercom’s India Solar Project Tracker, Avaada Energy’s solar portfolio includes 635 MW of commissioned projects and 1.96 GW under various development stages.

Avaada has attracted a range of investors over the last few years, including ADB, FMO – France, Proparco -Netherland, and DEG – Germany.

Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft (DEG), a development finance institution and a KfW Group subsidiary, recently pledged $10 million in funding to Avaada.

Before that, the Asian Development Bank also signed an agreement to invest $15 million in Avaada to expand its solar generation capacity in the country. The investment will come from ADB’s Ordinary Capital Resources and Leading Asia’s Private Infrastructure Fund, with both funds investing $7.5 million each. According to ADB, this marked the second investment in Avaada Energy after the first round of $50 million invested in April 2019.

The solar developer earlier said that it had secured financing of over $143 million in the form of equity infusion from ADB, German development bank – DEG, Dutch development finance company- FMO, and promoters’ equity.

In November 2019, PROPARCO, a French development financial institution, also announced a $15 million equity investment in Avaada Energy. PROPARCO provides funding and support to both businesses and financial institutions across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle-East.

Last month, the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity approved the grid-connectivity request for Avaada’s 100 MW solar project in Maharashtra. The project was earlier caught in disputes with the Solar Energy Corporation of India and Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited.