New Delhi Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) is looking to buy a stake in Tata Power Co Ltd’s green energy, power transmission and distribution business, according to two people aware of the development.
People said on condition of anonymity that due diligence has been done by the Sovereign Wealth Fund.
The investment proposed by PIF is in addition to BlackRock and UAE sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Company’s plans to invest in a new energy unit being launched by Tata Power, as Mint reported earlier.
The business, tentatively termed “consumer renewable”, will have all Tata Power assets except coal-fuelled power projects and carbon projects.
PIF, which serves as the Kingdom’s main investment arm, has approximately $600 billion in assets under management.
A Tata Power spokesperson did not respond to emails sent on Friday and to comment about phone calls and text messages. Questions sent to PIF on Friday also remained unanswered.
With a capacity of 13.06 gigawatts (GW), Tata Power is one of India’s largest integrated power companies dealing in renewable and conventional energy, power transmission and distribution, coal and freight, logistics and trade. It also supplies electricity to 12 million consumers in North Delhi and Odisha through its distribution companies.
“We do not comment on market speculation,” a spokesperson for BlackRock said in an emailed response.
An external spokesperson for Mubadala said the company does not comment on speculation.
Mint had earlier reported that PIF wants to invest in India’s infrastructure sector. Some of the Sovereign Wealth Funds active in India’s energy sector from West Asia include the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, which has backed GreenCo and Renew Energy Global plc; Masdar, owned by Mubadala Investment Company, also known as Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, acquired approximately 20% in Hero Future Energies Pvt Ltd. Ltd. in November 2019
Companies from oil-rich West Asian countries are looking to invest in India’s green energy sector to diversify their holdings.
On Friday, Abu Dhabi-based international holding company PJSC agreed to invest $2 billion in Adani Green Energy Limited, Adani Transmission Limited and Adani Enterprises Limited.
As Mint reported earlier, there is a growing interest in India’s green economy.
Canada’s Brookfield Asset Management Inc. is looking to buy a substantial stake in Mahindra Sustain, and Shell plc is at the forefront of acquiring Actis LLP’s Indian renewable energy platform Spring Energy. Additionally, Sembcorp Industries Limited of Singapore, Anfinity Global Inc. and JSW Group has been selected to acquire green energy producer Mitra Energy India Pvt Ltd. Ltd. potentially in a deal worth approximately $2 billion in enterprise value.
Tata Power is looking to reduce its stake in Tata Power Renewable Energy Ltd, its primary investment vehicle in clean energy, where BlackRock has reportedly shown interest.
Tata Power hired Citibank to find investors for its renewable energy InvIT.
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