Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd has agreed to pick up a 88% stake in renewable energy services firm Kanoda Energy Systems Pvt. Ltd for Rs 75 crore (about $10.7 million) in cash.
The total investment is likely to be completed by March 2020, Reliance Industries said in a stock-exchange filing.
The investment, which was made through its wholly-owned subsidiary Reliance Industrial Investments and Holdings Ltd, will assist RIL’s initiatives to use renewable energy sources, the filing added.
Incorporated in 2007, Ahmedabad-based Kanoda Energy offers services in solar advisory, product design and technology validation, and recently, it forayed into engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) and operation and maintenance (O&M) of solar photovoltaic systems.
It had earlier received capital from Ahmedabad-based financial services group Tipsons, its website states.
Kanoda Energy’s turnover stood at Rs 10.54 crore in the financial year 2017-18, as against Rs 1.63 crore in the previous year, the disclosure stated.
Reliance Industries
The conglomerate, which derives the bulk of its revenue from its energy business, has recently made a number of investments across sectors.
Last week, it purchased an equity stake of 5.56% in UK-based blockchain startup Vakt Holdings Ltd for $5 million (Rs 35 crore).
In October, Reliance had bought a 12.7% stake in SkyTran, a US venture-funded technology company developing pod car transport systems.
In September, it made a follow-on investment of $8 million (around Rs 58 crore at current exchange rates) in US-based artificial intelligence firm Netradyne, which focuses on driver and fleet safety.
In June, it agreed to acquire Radisys Corporation, a US-based open telecom platform solutions provider, for $75 million (Rs 510 crore) in cash.
In April, it decided to invest $180 million (Rs 1,175 crore) in ed-tech startup Embibe.
Deals in the space
India’s renewable energy sector has seen a flurry of investor activity this past year.
In October, Canadian pension fund Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) increased its stake in renewable energy firm Azure Power Global Ltd by 40% by investing an additional $100 million (Rs 730 crore).
In the same month, European investment firm ThomasLloyd Group bought a stake in Delhi-based solar energy producer SolarArise India Projects Pvt. Ltd. The investment will help SolarArise expand its solar energy capacity by around 250 megawatt.
A VCCircle analysis in October stated that India’s solar and wind energy industries could see a wave of consolidation as larger players like Tata Power Solar, Adani Solar and the Greenko Group could acquire smaller companies.
In July, ReNew Power Ltd, India’s largest green energy firm by capacity, received approval from markets regulator the Securities and Exchange Board of India to float an initial public offering.
In June, a media report stated that Japanese internet conglomerate SoftBank had decided to invest $60-100 billion in solar power generation in India.
In the same month, renewable energy major Greenko Group agreed to acquire AT Capital-backed Orange Renewable Power Pvt. Ltd for $300 million (about Rs 2,000 crore). The deal's enterprise value, which includes debt, was pegged at $1 billion.
