Reliance New Energy Solar Ltd (RNESL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), announced on Sunday that it has acquired 100% shareholding of REC Solar Holdings AS (REC Group) from China National Bluestar (Group) Co Ltd., for an Enterprise Value of $771 million.
RNESL will use REC's advanced technologies and patents to construct a 4 gigawatt (GW) manufacturing facility in Jamnagar, Gujarat as part of its 'giga factories'. The plant will eventually be scaled up to 10 GW.
The purchase by RNESL follows the June announcement by RIL that it would pump in $10.1 billion in clean energy over three years to become net carbon zero by 2035.
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"It (the deal) is in line with our strategy of investing in new and advanced technologies and operating capabilities aimed at achieving Reliance's goal of enabling 100 GW clean and green energy before the end of this decade," Mukesh Ambani, Chairman, RIL said in a statement.
He also indicated RIL's intent to continue making more acquisitions in the renewable sector.
"We will continue to invest, build and collaborate with global players to achieve the highest reliability, efficiency and economies to deliver high quality, reliable power at affordable prices to our customers both in India and markets worldwide," Ambani added.
Reliance said it would strongly support REC's planned expansions including 2-3 GW Cells and Module capacity in Singapore, a new 2 GW Cells and Module unit in France and another 1 GW Modules plant in the US.
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Headquartered in Norway, REC has its operational headquarters in Singapore and regional hubs in Australia, Asia-Pacific, Europe, and North America.
The acquisition of REC will help Reliance with a ready global platform and the opportunity to expand and grow in key green energy markets globally, including in the US, Europe, Australia and elsewhere in Asia.
REC has over 600 utility and design patents, of which 446 are granted and the balance are under evaluation
"It always had strong focus on research and development and now, coupled with Reliance's world-class innovation, scale, and operational excellence will further accelerate path breaking technological developments and introduction of new products. REC is a trusted brand globally known for pioneering innovations," RIL noted in its statement.