Race for NIIF-backed Ayana Renewable Power: ONGC emerges as lead suitor

Ayana Renewable Power's operating renewable power portfolio stood at 1.59 GW as of July 2024, which increased from 1.29 GW as of July 2023

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26 Aug, 2025 12:21

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State-owned ONGC, the country's largest crude oil and natural gas firm, has emerged as the front-runner to acquire a majority stake in Ayana Renewable Power, backed by NIIF (National Investment and Infrastructure Fund), four persons in the know told Moneycontrol on the condition of anonymity.

"ONGC, which is looking to prioritize its de-carbonisation efforts and move towards cleaner energy sources, has edged ahead of rival bidder JSW Neo Energy. Currently, it is seen as the lead contender for the deal," said one of the persons above.

Two other persons confirmed the same and one of them added that the talks may or may not necessarily fructify into an eventual transaction.

"If required, considering it's a large deal, ONGC may choose to not go solo and also look at joining hands with a suitable partner for the proposed transaction," a fourth person added.

When contacted, spokespersons for ONGC and JSW Energy declined to comment. An email query to NIIF remained unanswered at the time of publishing this article.

NIIF with 51 percent stake is the controlling shareholder of Ayana Renewable Power, with British International Investment and Eversource Capital holding 32 percent and 17 percent, respectively. The exact quantum of stake available on sale was not immediately clear.

On September 5, The Economic Times reported that ONGC and JSW Neo Energy had been shortlisted for the final round and submitted offers in the range of $1.6 billion to $1.8 billion in enterprise value. The report added that Ayana's three co-investors had committed to pump in $721 million in equity funding into the firm, with the debt component estimated to be between $800 million and $1 billion.

Though state-owned firms usually don't cut such large cheques in M&A auctions, ONGC, which has seen a 46.27 percent rise in its share price in the last year, is no stranger to mega deals. It acquired the government's 51 percent stake in HPCL in 2018, for Rs 36,912 crore.

In July 2024, ONGC published a decarbonization roadmap, outlining its strategy to achieve net-zero operational emissions (Scope 1 & Scope 2) by 2038. It plans to invest about Rs 2 lakh crore in setting up renewable energy sites and green hydrogen plants and cutting gas flaring to zero to meet its 2038 target.

Ayana Renewable Power: capacity and expansion plans

According to a ratings report on Ayana Renewable Power by ICRA dated September 5, "The pending committed equity capital along with cash surpluses from existing projects and debt being availed at ARPPL level would enable the platform to expand its portfolio to 4.6 GW. ICRA also notes that the company is actively looking for raising additional capital to fund its growth beyond the 4.6-GW capacity. The Group’s operating renewable power portfolio stood at 1.59 GW as of July 2024, which increased from 1.29 GW as of July 2023."

The report added, "The Group has another ~3 GW under development, comprising solar, wind, hybrid & round the clock (RTC) renewable assets with firm power purchase agreements (PPAs). Of this, the Group expects to commission a 300-MW solar power asset and 140-MW wind power asset in FY2025 and the balance through FY2026 and FY2027, subject to the timely construction of the assets."