BlackRock to Invest in Billionaire Birla’s Green Energy Company
TL;DR
BlackRock's infrastructure unit invests up to $335 million in Aditya Birla Renewables, a minority stake to help the Indian conglomerate expand its clean energy portfolio from 4.3 GW to over 10 GW, aligning with India's green power goals.
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An infrastructure unit of BlackRock Inc. will invest as much as $335 million in the renewable energy holding company of the Aditya Birla Group, as the Indian conglomerate joins rivals in a race to boost its clean power output.
Global Infrastructure Partners will pay Aditya Birla Renewables Ltd. 20 billion rupees ($225 million) and have a greenshoe option for another 10 billion rupees, the Aditya Birla Group said in a statement Tuesday. The BlackRock unit will pick up a minority stake in the subsidiary of listed Grasim Industries Ltd. whose enterprise value is pegged at 146 billion rupees.
Aditya Birla Renewables has a portfolio of 4.3 GW. The group is targeting an “accelerated buildout” towards more than 10 GW in the coming years, Kumar Mangalam Birla, chairman of the Aditya Birla Group, said in the statement.
Birla joins rivals Mukesh Ambani of Reliance Industries Ltd. and Gautam Adani’s eponymous group in hastening investment in clean power to meet India’s goal of doubling green capacity to 500 GW by 2030. Demand for power is also accelerating as tech firms seek to build data centers in the South Asian country.
Earlier this year, the Adani Group raised about $750 million through an offshore private placement bond. BlackRock Inc. subscribed to roughly a third of those bonds, which were issued to fund the acquisition of a construction firm.