Abu Dhabi’s Masdar Set to Acquire a Minority Stake in India’s Hero Future Energies
With this, Masdar aims to venture into the Indian renewable energy market
November 1, 2019
Masdar (or Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company) is set to acquire a minority stake in Hero Future Energies Global Ltd. (HFE UK), and Hero Future Energies Private Ltd (HFE India) according to a notification issued by the Competition Commission of India (CCI).
The stake will be acquired by way of subscription to equity shares in HFE UK and non-voting compulsorily convertible preference shares in HFE India.
This acquisition presents Masdar an opportunity to step into the Indian renewable energy market with HFE’s existing portfolio in the country.
According to Mercom’s India Solar Project Tracker, HFE India currently has 600 MW of large-scale solar projects in operation, and about 840 MW of projects are in the development pipeline as of June 2019.
Masdar, a subsidiary of UAE-based Mubadala Investment Company, is a developer and operator of utility-scale renewable energy projects, community grid projects, and energy services consultancy.
HFE India, an independent power producer, is a subsidiary of Hero Future Energies Asia and is held by HFE UK. According to the company’s website, they currently operate in ten states in India with a portfolio of wind, solar PV (grid-connected), and rooftop projects.
This transaction was approved through the ‘green channel,’ a much quicker route for clearing certain categories of mergers and acquisitions, that was introduced by the CCI earlier this year.
Recently, Mercom reported that Masdar won the bid to develop a 100 MW of utility-scale solar projects in Uzbekistan’s Navoi region.
In April, Hero Future had announced that its subsidiary, Clean Solar Power, was set to receive a debt financing of up to $43.3 million from International Financial Corporation, the financial arm of the World Bank. Clean Solar Power was to develop a 250 MW greenfield solar project located in Rajasthan’s Bhadla. The estimated cost of the project is $200 million.
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