KKR to invest over ₹6,000 crore in Petronas India RE arm

New Delhi: KKR is set to invest more than ₹6,000 crore in the Indian renewable energy (RE) unit of Petronas, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Malaysia oil giant's unit, Gentari Renewable India Pte Ltd, has been looking to raise growth capital to fund expansion of its renewable and green hydrogen projects besides lowering debt. The funding will not result directly in the acquisition of a holding in the unit, said the people cited.

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Acquiring stakes in JVs

But the investment will give KKR the option of owning a stake in the future, they added.

KKR vehicle Sapphire US Holdco LLC has sought approval by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) for an investment in Singapore-based Gentari Renewable India Pte Ltd, according to filings seen by ET.

Gentari had purchased a 1.6 gigawatt renewable energy portfolio of projects from Brookfield early last year. Shortly after that, it sought to induct a financial partner in the renewable energy business with Standard Chartered Bank engaged by Gentari as advisor, ET reported June last year. "The plan is to grow with the funding from KKR by building on the existing portfolio of projects," said an executive familiar with the development.

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The funding will also be used for acquiring stakes Gentari has in some renewable energy joint ventures in India, said the people cited.

KKR and Gentari did not respond to ET's queries.

Gentari has set up a joint venture with ReNew for developing solar, wind and hybrid power generation infrastructure and has a partnership with AM Green for hydrogen and ammonia production.

KKR has been eyeing a broader footprint in the renewable energy sector in India. It already has investments in Hero Future Energy and Serentica Renewables. It’s also a sponsor of Indigrid, which has power transmission and renewable energy generation assets. KKR’s infrastructure investment portfolio in India is worth $10 billion, including investments in data centres and roads, experts estimate.

It had been among the top two bidders for Shell’s renewable energy company, Sprng Energy. Aditya Birla eventually outbid KKR to acquire that company for $1.8 billion earlier this year.

Fundraising and M&A activity in India’s renewable energy sector have accelerated over the past three years. Inox Clean Energy and Sembcorp Green Infra Ltd recently filed papers for an initial public offering of shares. Sembcorp Green Infra is the local renewable energy arm of Singapore’s Sembcorp Industries. Suitors including Blackstone are pursuing a bid for Actis-owned renewable energy company BluPine. ET reported recently that Thermax was looking to rope in a partner for its renewable energy business.