Kumar Mangalam Birla-controlled Aditya Birla Group, which tied up with private equity house Abraaj Group in 2015 for its renewable energy business, is said to be seeking a new investor for the business.
Aditya Birla Renewables Ltd is a joint venture between the Birla Group and Abraaj, with Birla holding a 51% stake and Gulf-based Abraaj holding the remaining 49% stake.
“The solar power platform will bid for projects tendered at national and state auctions, with the intent to develop and operate utility-scale solar power plants that can provide clean and cost-effective electricity to national grids across several key states in India,” Aditya Birla Group said in statement in 2015.
Aditya Birla Group want to grow the business and they are seeking to bring on board a new deep-pocketed investor. They are looking for a large pension or sovereign wealth fund kind of investor. They are looking at some investors from the Gulf region.
The new investor might pick up part or the whole stake currently owned by Abraaj in the firm since the ongoing troubles at Abraaj raise concern about its ability to focus on this business and thus a new investor that Birla gets on board might be asked to buy out part or whole of Abraaj’s stake.