ENGIE has agreed to sell a 74 percent stake in 12 solar assets aggregating 813 MWp of operating capacity collectively to Edelweiss Infrastructure Yield Plus (EIYP) and Sekura Energy, a portfolio company of EIYP.
The completion of the transaction, which is expected in the first half of 2020, will enable ENGIE to reduce its net debt by more than EUR 400 million.
ENGIE uses its engineering capabilities to design, finance and build renewable energy production capacity. Once this capacity is built, ENGIE partially disposes of its interest and retains the operation and maintenance of the asset. The value created by this Develop Build Share Operate (DBSO) strategy increases the impact of solar and wind development potential in many countries.
ENGIE Group’s renewable capacity in India exceeds 1.5 GW following the commissioning of two wind projects in Tamil Nadu and Gujarat and solar projects in Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat.
ENGIE will maintain its leading industrial role by remaining in charge of the development, construction and operation of present and future solar plants.
“This transaction allows us to accelerate the implementation of our strategic model in renewables, and to free up capital to keep up investing in the very dynamic Indian solar market,” Paulo Almirante, chief operating officer of ENGIE, said.
EIYP will benefit from access to a strong future pipeline of solar assets to be developed and constructed by ENGIE under the terms of the agreement. This will also grow EIYP’s Sekura Energy platform and make us a large investor in Indian energy space, Subahoo Chordia, head of EIYP, said.