GREENKO CALLS OFF ITS PLAN TO BUY ORANGE RENEWABLE

NEW DELHI: Greenko Group has called off its plan to buy Orange Renewable from Singapore’s AT Capital Group and investment bank Rothschild has resumed scouting for a buyer for one of India’s largest renewable energy platforms, two people aware of the development said, requesting anonymity.

“The contract has expired because of a technical reason,” Greenko Group founder Mahesh Kolli said in response to a query, without giving details. Kolli is also Greenko’s president and joint managing director.

Greenko, backed by sovereign wealth funds GIC Holdings Pte Ltd and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, agreed to buy Orange Renewable at an enterprise value of $1 billion in June. The Hyderabad-based clean energy firm was to make an equity payout of around $300 million, and once the transaction was completed, Greenko’s total renewable energy operational capacity would have increased by 1 gigawatt (GW) to 4.2GW, the second largest in India after Renew Power Ventures Pvt. Ltd.

The Economic Times had reported on 21 August about the deal facing strong headwinds, adding it could be shelved. According to the report, Greenko had raised concerns about Orange’s assets holding firm being regarded as a “core investment firm,” requiring it to follow the RBI’S guidelines.

An external spokesperson for Rothschild said it “does not comment on market speculations”.