JSW Energy, a private sector power producer, has completed a ₹50 billion (~$600 million) qualified institutions placement (QIP), attracting strong interest from marquee global and domestic institutional investors.

The QIP, marking the first-ever equity raise by the company since its listing in 2010, was oversubscribed over 3.2 times, it said in a statement. It claimed it was also the largest primary equity raise in the Indian power sector in the last decade and among the top three largest ever in the history of the Indian power sector.

The proceeds from the QIP will enable JSW Energy to strengthen its balance sheet and provide greater financial flexibility to execute its growth plans.

The issue saw participation from global asset managers, including GQG Partners, Blackrock, Nomura, Wellington, UBS, and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. Domestic mutual funds and insurance companies also participated in the QIP.

Funds managed by Goldman Sachs were allotted 27.12% of the total issue size and 10% to Nomura.

The company’s board approved the issuance and allotment of 103 million equity shares to 97 qualified institutional buyers at the issue price of ₹485 (~$5.82) per equity share, which includes a discount of ₹25.09 (~$0.30) per share against the floor price.

Post the allotment, the company’s paid-up equity share capital rose from ₹16.4 billion (~$197 million) to ₹17.5 billion (~$210 million), consisting of 1.7 billion equity shares each.

“The overwhelming investor interest is a testament to their confidence in our strategy of transforming into a leading diversified energy player, with a focus on renewable energy generation and energy storage,” said Sharad Mahendra, CEO of JSW Energy.

JSW Energy has a total locked-in generation capacity of 12.5 GW comprising 7.2 GW operational, 2.6 GW under-construction assets across wind, thermal, and hydro, and letters of award and intent for 2.7 GW capacity from SECI (Solar Tranche XIII and Wind Tranche XVI), SJVN and GUVNL. In addition, the company has 3.4 GWh of locked-in energy storage capacity through battery energy storage systems and pumped hydro storage projects.

A JSW Energy subsidiary recently expanded its renewable energy portfolio with the ₹1.32 billion (~$15.8 million) acquisition of the 45 MW Vashpet wind project from Reliance Power.

The company’s third-quarter profit jumped 29% from last year as strong performance in the renewables segment and lower fuel costs helped the bottom line.