NIIF, Actis eye Macquarie’s Vibrant green platform
NEW DELHI : India’s National Investment and Infrastructure Fund Ltd (NIIF) and private equity firm Actis Llp are among four contenders vying to acquire Macquarie Asset Management’s Green Investment Group platform Vibrant Energy, two people aware of the development said. Vibrant Energy has a 1.5-gigawatt (GW) portfolio in the commercial and industrial (C&I) sector. JP Morgan is managing the transaction with four bidders being shortlisted from among the non-binding offers submitted for the deal valued at around $250 million.
Macquarie, one of the largest foreign infrastructure investors in India, has also hired Bank of America Corp. (BofA) to sell around 450 megawatts (MW) of solar power projects of its Stride platform for around $300 million. Last week, The Economic Times reported about Indonesia’s Sun Energy and energy trading firm Vitol submitting bids to acquire Vibrant Energy.
India’s C&I energy sector has garnered significant investor attention, driven by the nation’s projected shift towards green energy and rules permitting large power consumers to procure energy from the open market rather than the more costly grid. Interest in the C&I space has gained momentum recently, with companies setting ambitious targets to transition to green energy and net zero emissions. C&I projects are shielded from power procurement curtailment risks by state-run power distributors.
India’s green energy space has witnessed tremendous interest, given the country’s ever-increasing demand for power. India recently set a new record, with power demand reaching 239.9GW, exceeding India’s power sector planning body, the Central Electricity Authority’s (CEA) projections of 230GW. India has an installed renewable energy capacity of 172GW, with
. Read more on livemint.com
