US investment firm Augment Infrastructure will acquire majority stakes in rooftop solar power producer CleanMax Enviro Energy Solutions Pvt Ltd for Rs 1,650 crore ($222 million) from Warburg Pincus LLC and International Finance Corp (IFC). The deal value includes new investments in Mumbai-based CleanMax.
"UK Climate Investments (UKCI) will continue as an investor and board member," the firms said in a joint statement on Thursday. UKCI, a joint venture between Green Investment Group and the UK government’s department for business, energy and industrial strategy, is managed by Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets.
Rothschild & Co was the sale adviser. “This is Augment Infrastructure’s first investment in an Indian commercial and industrial (C&I) renewable energy company," said Darius Lilaoonwala, managing partner, Augment Infrastructure, in the statement.
In July 2017, CleanMax said it had secured equity financing of as much as $100 million from Warburg Pincus.
“Over 150 CleanMax colleagues, present and past, are securing a part exit on their ESOPs," Kuldeep Jain, founder and managing director of CleanMax, said in the statement.
CleanMax’s operating capacity has jumped from 24 megawatt in 2015-16 to around 750 MW. Its portfolio includes 380 MW of large-scale solar farms in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu that supply electricity to corporate customers and 220 MW of solar rooftop projects.
It has also expanded its portfolio in the Middle East, with a 30 MW portfolio in the United Arab Emirates and is exploring further expansion in Southeast Asia. It also got its first project in Thailand.
“The primary capital raised by CleanMax will support our strategic expansion efforts to continue building our customer base and add around 400 MW of new capacity annually. We are excited with our aim to enhance our operating capacity from 760 MW to around 2,000 MW in the next 3 years," Nikunj Ghodawat, chief financial officer of CleanMax, said in the statement.
