MUMBAI: Five marquee foreign investors including
AP Moller Capital
, I Squared Capital and Actis have shown an interest in buying a majority stake in a new
renewable energy platform
promoted by the owners of
InoxGFL Group
,
Vivek Jain
and his son
Devansh Jain
, which will have a valuation of $1.8 billion.
The other two interested parties are Sembcorp Industries and CapitaLand – both from Singapore.
The Jains have signed term sheets with AP Moller (part of Danish shipping giant AP Moller Group) and I Squared (founded by former Morgan Stanley executives) and are in discussions with the other three, a source said.
Once the deal is concluded, it will be the first private equity investment in a venture promoted by the father and son duo. Nearly three years ago, Vivek inherited the renewables and chemicals businesses following a split of Inox Group, which was founded by his grandfather in 1923.
The new renewable energy platform, in which a foreign investor will hold 51% and the Jains will own 49%, plans to produce over 1.5 gigawatt (GW) of wind and solar power in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, incurring a capital expenditure of $1.2 billion. The Jains will transfer certain wind and solar assets (about 106 megawatt) from group companies Gujarat Fluorochemicals (GFL) and Inox Green Energy Services (Inox Green) to this platform. The platform has also signed an offtake agreement with GFL for 300 megawatt.
The foreign investor’s 51% in the platform will carry a post money valuation of about $200 million. The Jains have brought on board former Welspun Group CFO Akhil Jindal to handle the fund-raise, M&A, among other corporate finance activities. The proposed deal comes when renewable energy is attracting significant capital amid India tackling carbon emissions.
InoxGFL Group, which has four companies listed on the bourses – GFL, Inox Wind, Inox Wind Energy and Inox Green – has a market capitalisation of Rs 65,018 crore. Vivek’s older brother Pavan Jain received the industrial gases manufacturing and multiplex businesses as part of the family separation arrangement.
