ENGIE eyes monetization of Indian renewable energy portfolio

ENGIE eyes monetization of Indian renewable energy portfolio

French energy major ENGIE is looking to monetize its renewable energy investments in India and is currently in talks to appoint an investment bank to advise it on the process, sources aware of the development told Moneycontrol.  

ENGIE currently has a portfolio of over 2.3 gigawatts (GW) in India. Of this, about 1.1 GW is operational and another 1.25 GW is in various stages of development. ENGIE has had a presence in India for a decade and has invested approximately 1 billion euro in the country so far.

“They are looking to monetize the operational assets, although it is not yet decided on how much of that portfolio they would like to sell. They have been engaged in discussions with investment banks for some time now and are expected to soon appoint one to start the monetization process,” said one of the sources cited above.

ENGIE’s renewable capacity in India is spread across seven states with a mix of solar and wind assets.

The French company has 830 MW of solar and wind projects in Gujarat, 825 MW in Rajasthan, 250 MW in Andhra Pradesh, 220 MW in Tamil Nadu, and other smaller projects in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Telangana.

This is not the first asset monetization by ENGIE in India. In 2020, ENGIE sold a 74 percent stake in 12 solar assets, aggregating 813 MW, to Edelweiss-backed funds. This helped ENGIE to reduce its net debt by more than 400 million euros.

Emails sent to ENGIE did not elicit any response.

Also Read: French energy giant Engie to bring its GEMS unit to India: CCO Naresh Baluja

Asset sales in Indian renewables sector

The Indian renewable energy sector is seeing a flurry of M&A activity.

Moneycontrol reported on February 7 that global energy major Shell Plc has kicked off the sale process for its Indian renewable energy unit Sprng Energy and has started reaching out to prospective buyers for the portfolio, which could fetch an enterprise value of $1.6-1.8 billion.

Ayana Renewable Power, a platform backed by the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), is looking for investors to pick up a majority stake in the company. 

Other renewable energy platforms such as Macquarie-backed Vibrant Energy and Temasek-EQT backed O2 Power are also on sale currently.