Adani Green Energy Limited (AGEL) has signed a pact to acquire 100 per cent stake in SoftBank group subsidiary SB Energy India (80 per cent) and Sunil Mittal-led Bharti Group (20 per cent). The assets forming part of the portfolio are primarily solar park-based projects, Adani Green said in a statement on Wednesday. Gautam Adani, Chairman, Adani Group, said the quality of assets that SoftBank and the Bharti Group have built are "excellent" and that the company is proud to take their legacy forward.
SB Energy India has a total renewable portfolio of 4,954MW spread across four states in India. The transaction marks this largest acquisition in the renewable energy sector in India. The transaction values SB Energy India at an enterprise valuation of around $3.5 billion. "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," said Adani.
He said India has been one of the few nations that have accelerated its global commitment towards climate change. "The renewable energy platform that we are building will lay the foundation for attracting several other global industries that are increasingly looking to reduce their carbon footprint (as well as lay the foundation for opening up adjacent platforms that include hydrogen and storage). We are well on our way to achieve our stated solar portfolio targets four years before our deadline," said Adani.
SB Energy, which is a subsidiary of SoftBank Group, has a portfolio that consists of large-scale utility assets with 84 per cent solar capacity (4,180 MW), 9 per cent wind-solar hybrid capacity (450 MW) and 7 per cent wind capacity (324 MW).
The portfolio also comprises 1,400 MW operational solar power capacity and a further 3,554 MW project that's under construction. "All projects have 25-year PPAs with sovereign rated counter-parties such as Solar Energy Corporation of India Ltd (SECI), NTPC Limited and NHPC Limited," Adani Green statement said.
SoftBank Group Chairman & CEO Masayoshi Son said SB Energy India was started in 2015 with the goal of creating a market-leading clean energy company to help fuel India's growth with clean and renewable sources of energy. "We are immensely proud of all that we have accomplished. As SBG continues our transition to a global investment holding company focused on accelerating the deployment of artificial intelligence, we believe now is the right time to bring in the Adani Group to help drive the next phase of SB Energy India's growth," he added.
Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman, Bharti Enterprises, said Adani Group has an outstanding track record of building a green energy powerhouse, which will get further acceleration with the combination of SB Energy into its fold. "I am glad that Bharti could play a constructive role in partnership with SoftBank," he added.
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