Leap Green looks for funding partners in China, Japan
Leap Green’s effort to raise funds comes at a time when the renewable energy space is seeing consolidation
New Delhi: Japan’s Daiwa Securities Group Inc. has been hired by Leap Green Energy Pvt. Ltd, promoted by the family of former Formula 1 driver Narain Karthikeyan, to raise funds from China, Japan and South Asian countries for its clean energy business, said two people aware of the development.
“Daiwa has been appointed by us for a primary fund raise in China, Japan and S.E. Asia,” Rajeev Karthikeyan, managing director, Leap Green Energy, said in a text message. Leap Green has operational wind assets capacity of 751 megawatts (MW) and about 400 MW of under construction assets.
“Leap Green has been looking to raise funds,” said another person aware of the development, requesting anonymity.
In a primary fund raise, the capital raised from the market comes to the company, while in a secondary fund raise the firm or the entity that offload its stake gets paid.
In May, The Rohatyn Group (TRG), a specialized asset management firm focused on emerging markets, acquired the JPMorgan Asian Infrastructure and Related Resources Opportunity (AIRRO) platform from JPMorgan Asset Management, which held about 75% stake in Leap Green Energy. JP Morgan had acquired the stake across multiple tranches since 2010.
Leap Green’s effort to raise funds comes at a time when the Indian renewable energy space is witnessing growing consolidation, amid falling tariffs and the capital-intensive nature of the business. This has made availability of low-cost funds critical for the success of a project, particularly at the initial stage. India has recorded low solar tariff of ₹2.44 per unit, making it imperative for developers to secure finance at the lowest cost.
Queries emailed to Daiwa Securities Group and The Rohatyn Group on 6 January and 11 January, respectively, remained unanswered.
Mint had reported two large clean-energy deals which are in the works: PTC India Ltd’s wind power valued at around ₹2,000 crore has seen interest from the Indian arm of CLP Holdings Ltd, Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA) and Hero Future Energies. Also, half-a-dozen investors, including ReNew Power Ventures Pvt. Ltd and MIRA, are interested in acquiring the ₹5,000-crore clean energy business of Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services.
Source: livemint
