Brookfield exploring $300 mn IPO of renewable energy company CleanMax

Brookfield exploring $300 mn IPO of renewable energy company CleanMax

Canadian investor Brookfield Asset Management has held exploratory conversations with investment banks for the initial public offering (IPO) of its renewable energy company CleanMax Enviro EnergySolutions, which supplies green energy to commercial and industrial establishments, sources aware of the development told Moneycontrol. 

Brookfield acquired a controlling stake in the company in June 2023 in a $360 million deal. CleanMax serves over 750 corporates from its 2 gigawatts (GW) project portfolio. Its customers include companies across industries such as textiles, automotive, chemicals, pharma, FMCG and data centres.

While the plans are at an initial stage, the sources added that if Brookfield decides to go ahead with the IPO, the company could raise as much as Rs 2,500 crore-3,000 crore (approximately $300-360 million) at a valuation of around Rs 10,000 crore-12,000 crore.

The company plans to create a portfolio of over 5 GW over the next three to four years.

In April, CleanMax installed 14.4 megawatts (MW) of rooftop solar installations across six industrial sites in India for Apple. “The added capacity provides a local solution to power Apple’s offices, its two retail stores in the country, and other operations in India,” Apple said in a statement.

In 2023, the company set up a 400 MW wind solar hybrid project in Babra, Gujarat.

Brookfield declined to comment on the development, while an email sent to CleanMax did not elicit a response till press time.

Brookfield India renewable portfolio

Apart from its investment in CleanMax,  Brookfield last year committed to invest $ 1 billion through its Brookfield Global Transition Fund  to fund the Avaada Group's green hydrogen and green ammonia ventures in India.

In September 2023, the Canadian investor and Axis Energy Ventures announced their second joint venture, with up to $845 million investment from Brookfield.

In 2019, the two entities set up ABC Renewables, a similar renewable energy platform, which has developed over 1.8 GW of solar and wind assets.

Renewable IPOs

The Indian renewable energy sector is warming up to the public markets and a few IPOs from the sector are expected to hit the markets this fiscal.

Moneycontrol reported on April 11 that NTPC Green Energy, the renewable energy arm of state-owned NTPC Ltd, has shortlisted four investment banks to manage its Rs 10,000 crore initial public offering, which would be the biggest by a state-owned entity since the share sale by Life Insurance Corporation of India in 2022.

On May 1, Moneycontrol reported that Delhi-based renewable energy company Juniper Green Energy has initiated talks with investment banks to evaluate an initial public offering, which could see the company raise as much as $200 million-250 million or more.