Petronas to buy solar power firm Amplus

THE ₹2,700 CRORE DEAL MARKS PETRONAS’ FORAY INTO THE GLOBAL CLEAN ENERGY SPACE

NEW DELHI: Malaysia’s state-run oil and gas company, Petroliam Nasional Bhd or Petronas on Monday said it has acquired Amplus Energy Solutions Pvt. Ltd, one of India’s largest rooftop solar power producers.

The ₹2,700 crore deal, which is expected to be completed later this month, marks Petronas’ foray into the global clean energy space. Oil giants are looking to diversify and invest in India’s emerging green economy as the conventional hydrocarbon space undergoes technological disruptions.

Mint had reported about the impending deal on January 16.

While New York-based I Squared Capital holds over a 90% stake in Amplus, the balance is held by the management team led by Amplus founder and chief executive officer (CEO) Sanjeev Aggarwal.

“Petronas today announced that it has entered into an agreement with I Squared Capital, a leading global infrastructure investor, to acquire 100% interest in Amplus Energy Solutions Pte Ltd, also known as M+, a leading Singapore-based company with a portfolio of distributed, renewable energy assets in Asia,” Petronas said in a statement. Norway’s Statoil ASA, France’s Total SA and Royal Dutch Shell Plc had also shown interest in investing in Amplus that has set up 350 megawatts (MW) of capacity across India. Russia’s Rosneft, the world’s largest publicly traded oil firm, has also been exploring opportunities in India’s solar energy sector.

With the biggest expense being the cost of capital in the green energy business, the financial heft of global oil majors such as Petronas will help India’s clean energy sector. Sanjeev Aggarwal will continue to head the firm that has 500MW under operation and development at 200 locations across India, the Middle East and South East Asia.

Aggarwal declined to comment on the deal.

Mint had reported on December 4 about I Squared Capital creating a new renewable assets platform that will acquire and develop utility-scale projects.

“This acquisition reflects Petronas’ strategic intent to grow in the renewable energy space as part of our strategy to step out beyond oil and gas into the new energy business. This also represents our first international solar venture and we look forward in providing energy solutions to our customers in these high growth energy markets,” Petronas president and group CEO Tan Sri Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin said in the statement.

Distributed renewable energy generation is attracting strong investor interest as the market has few developers with large portfolios. Warburg Pincus Llc, the New York-based private equity firm, in 2017 announced a $100 million investment in rooftop solar developer Cleanmax Solar.