Making its entry into Indian renewables market, Italy's Enel Green Power (EGP) today said it has acquired a majority stake in BLP Energy, the utility scale wind and solar arm of Bharat Light & Power, for about 30 million euros.
"With this transaction, EGP enters the Indian renewables market, marking the Group's first move into the Asia-Pacific region, thus reaching more than 10 GW of net installed capacity globally," the company said in a statement.
"This acquisition opens the doors for Enel Green Power to the huge potential of the Indian market and is the gateway to further expansion across Asia," EGP CEO Francesco Venturini said.
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"We intend to contribute to Indian government's objective of increasing the share of renewables in the country's energy portfolio. EGP is also interested in participating public solar tenders at both national and state level," Venturini added.
The acquisition of a majority stake in an Indian independent power producer with a portfolio of wind assets already in operation and a geographically diversified pipeline of solar and wind projects, fits the Group's strategy and offers strong development prospects combined with an established market position, the statement said.
The transaction, completed in less than one year, is one of the fastest carried out by EGP and is testament to the capacity of the Group to stay ahead of trends and to quickly enter into new countries, leveraging on its global scale and expertise to seize arising market opportunities, it added.
Bharat Light & Power Group CEO Tejpreet S Chopra said," I am excited to partner with Enel Green Power for the next phase of BLP's growth... We shall work closely with the central and state governments in India in moving from megawatts to gigawatts of renewable energy."
UBS Investment Bank acted as exclusive financial advisor to BLP Group on the transaction.
"This transaction is a good indicator of the international interest in renewable sector in India driven by the huge growth opportunity and the support from the central and state governments," UBS Investment Bank Executive Director Sawan Kumar said.
BLP, one of the leading renewable energy companies in India, owns operating wind plants in Gujarat and Maharashtra that have a total capacity of 172 MW.
Enel Green Power deals in international development and management of renewable energy sources, with operations in Europe, America, Africa and Asia.
