Morgan Stanley-led co to raise $70 mn from Olympus Cap

Continuum Wind Energy,arenewableenergyfirm controlled by Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners, is in talks with private equity firm Olympus Capital Asia to raise structured credit financing of around ₹450 crore ($70 million), two people aware of the developmentsaid.MorganStanleyInfrastructurePartners,whichmanages over $4 billion globally, invested $212 million in Singapore-based Continuum Wind in 2012. TheIndia-focussed Continuumwassetupin2009byArvind Bansal and Vikash Saraf.

“Continuumisintalkstoraise structured credit financing from Olympus Capital Asia. They are talking about raising ₹300-450 crore from Olympus. The talks are at an advanced stage,” said oneofthetwopeoplecitedabove, requesting anonymity as the talks are private. The capital would be used by Continuum to refinance part of its existing debt obligations, he added.

MorganStanleyandOlympus Capital declined to comment on the development. Emails sent to Arvind Bansal did not elicit any response.

InJuly,Continuumwithdrew anoffshoredollarbondissuance, aimed at refinancing the company’s debt obligations.

According to a Financial Expressreport,ContinuumWind was looking to raise $400 million throughtheproposedbondoffering.

Continuum has a portfolio of about 2.2 gigawatts (GW) of generationcapacity,ofwhicharound 404 megawatts (MW) is operational,150MWisunderconstruction, 450 MW is ready to construct,andtherestisunderdevelopment, rating agency Fitch Ratingssaidin aJulynoterating the proposed bond issuance.

Olympus Capital, founded in 1997, has invested over $2 billion ofequitycapital in over50portfolio companies throughout Asia, including China, India, Japan, SouthKoreaandSoutheastAsia, according to the fund’s website.

Olympus Capital provides structured credit financing throughitsarmOlympusCapital Asia Credit (OCACredit), which was set up in 2013. OCA Credit providesstructuredlendingsolutions to mid-sized corporations thatareunderservedbycommercial banks or that seek alternatives to private equity funding. It focusesonSoutheastAsia,India, Australia and North Asia.

The firm provide $20-100 millioninstructuredloanswithtwoto three-year maturities.

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