KKR & Co. is looking to sell its maiden renewable energy platform Virescent, which, once completed, will mark the first exit for the private equity major’s inaugural Asia Pacific Infrastructure Fund from India.
The Indian firm’s portfolio is housed in Virescent Renewable Energy Trust (VRET), the entity has a portfolio of 14 operational solar parks across seven Indian states.
Virescent currently owns 317MWp of solar assets located in Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. KKR has also entered into definitive agreements to acquire other operating solar projects across three different states.
KKR led a $450 million investment in Hero Future Energies, the renewable energy arm of the Hero Group. “KKR has hired investment bank JPMorgan to run the sale process, and teasers have already been sent out to prospective buyers. They are targeting pension and sovereign wealth funds, which may be seeking yield-generating infra-assets in India, and strategic buyers who may be keen on expanding their existing portfolio in India.
Virescent’s assets are housed under an infrastructure investment trust (InvIT) called Virescent Renewable Energy Trust, the first such InvIT for renewable assets to be set up in India. The portfolio comprises 499.9-megawatt peak (MWp) of solar assets, while another 38.3 MWp of assets were under the process of acquisition.
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