Canadian investment firm Brookfield Asset Management Inc has stepped up its play in India’s renewable energy sector with the acquisition of a majority stake in Tamil Nadu-based Leap Green Energy.
Brookfield said Thursday it will make a $200-million upfront equity investment in Leap Green, founded by the family of India’s first Formula One driver Narain Karthikeyan.
The Canadian firm, an active investor in India's renewable energy, infrastructure, and real estate sectors, said it will subscribe to fresh shares and buy shares from existing shareholders.
Brookfield also has an option to invest an additional $350 million of equity capital to support Leap Green’s business growth. The green energy firm seeks to increase capacity to above 3 GW in capacity over the next four-five years.
Leap Green executes renewable energy projects for commercial and industrial customers. It has an existing wind and solar asset base of 775 MW of operating and under construction assets.
“Our partnership provides an important opportunity to meet the demand in the C&I segment and deliver outcomes where decarbonization and value creation are in total alignment,” said Nawal Saini, managing director and head of renewable power and transition for South Asia and the Middle East at Brookfield.
The acquisition of Leap Green adds to Brookfield’s previous investments in India’s clean energy sector. Last year, the firm invested $360 million to acquire a majority stake in renewable energy company CleanMax and invested $1 billion in Avaada Group to help finance the group’s green hydrogen and green ammonia ventures. In addition, Brookfield partnered with Axis Energy Ventures for renewable energy projects and agreed to invest $845 million.
The latest deal comes at a time when Brookfield is raising $5 billion for a new climate-focused fund. Brookfield had, in December 2023, launched the Catalytic Transition Fund (CTF) in partnership with the UAE-based climate investment firm Alterra, with a focus on investing in clean energy and transition assets in emerging markets.
It expects the CTF to make its first close by the end of 2024. The target markets are South and Central America, South and Southeast Asia, West Asia, and Eastern Europe.
Brookfield’s renewable power and transition portfolio comprises over 25 GW of wind and solar assets in operation, construction and/or development, in India. Globally, Brookfield commands over $925 billion in assets under management across renewable power and transition, infrastructure, private equity, real estate, and credit.
