Edelweiss funds to buy 74 percent of Engie's solar assets in India

Engie said that Edelweiss Infrastructure Yield Plus and the fund's portfolio company Sekura Energy Ltd would buy the stake in 12 solar assets with an entire capacity of 813 megawatt-peak. The French company has not revealed the exact deal value, but the transaction will help it reduce its net debt by more than 443.6 million dollars. The deal is part of Engie's tactic to reorient its energy business. Last year, it would twitch out of about 20 nations and gaze for new markets in emerging countries where access to energy was a test. In nations like India, Engie planned to finance in off-grid power, microgrids, and home solar.

Last year, Engie selected a significant minority stake in a Jaipur-based last-mile distribution firm that offers solar energy solutions. In 2016, company had sold its 89 percent stake in thermal power producer Meenakshi Energy Ltd. to India Power Corp. Engie has been selling assets in other nations too. Earlier, British electricity supplier Octopus Energy shattered Engie's household energy supply business in the UK.

Engie’s COO Paulo Almirante said its total renewable capacity in India reaches 1,500 megawatts that include two wind farms in Tamil Nadu and Gujarat, apart from the solar properties. The company plans to expand the solar platform along with Edelweiss and will continue to be accountable for the development, construction, and operation of present and future solar plants. This transaction allows them to accelerate the implementation of their strategic model in renewables, and to free up assets to keep up investing in the dynamic solar market in India.

The deal comes even as states such as Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, and Odisha have either tried to renegotiate renewable energy contracts or were planning to do so. Edelweiss alternative Asset Advisors Ltd. administers the EIYP program, which supports Sekura Energy. The Alternative Investment Fund finances in operational assets in the electricity, renewable energy, and road industries.

In late 2017, Edelweiss launched the fund to raise as much as one billion dollars, which reached the first close in 2018 for the company. Edelweiss began the second phase of fundraising for the vehicle late last year and was looking to close it at this year's 750 million dollars. The transaction with Engie inflates Sekura's energy business. Formerly, Sekura had agreed to buy a stake in four power transmission assets from Essel Infraprojects Ltd in October 2018. Sekura has been on the sneak for infrastructure assets for the past few years. The previous year, it was said that Sekura Energy was willing to acquire Kalpataru Power Transmission Ltd's power transmission possessions. Sekura Roads, another network funded by EIYP, planned last year to buy 150 million dollars from the Hyderabad-based Navayuga Group for two annuity road projects.