The first-generation billionaire-entrepreneur and his family plan to inject US$1bil into Adani Green. — Bloomberg
MUMBAI: Indian billionaire Gautam Adani’s renewable energy unit has gotten board approval to raise as much as 93.5 billion rupees (US$1.12bil) by issuing share warrants to its founders as the company charts ambitious growth plans and braces for bond repayments next year.
Adani Green Energy Ltd’s board approved the plan to issue 63.1 million warrants at 1,480.75 rupees each, according to an exchange filing, confirming an earlier Bloomberg News report.
The funds will be utilised for paring debt and funding accelerated capital expenditure, the Ahmedabad-based company said in the filing.
The first-generation billionaire-entrepreneur and his family plan to inject US$1bil into Adani Green while the company is seeking to raise at least US$2bil in mostly new debt next year, Bloomberg News reported last week citing people familiar with the internal discussions.
“India is on the cusp of becoming a global leader in renewable energy.
“Adani Green Energy is in the vanguard of this revolution,” Adani, chairman of the ports-to-power conglomerate, said in a media statement.
“This investment by the Adani family underscores our commitment.”
Earlier this month, Adani Green Energy signed a US$1.36bil project financing loan from eight lenders to develop a renewable energy park at Khavda, Gujarat.
Along with the latest share warrants and a US$300mil investment by TotalEnergies announced earlier, Adani’s green energy arm said it has raised almost US$3bil.
This makes it “fully equipped” to achieve its capacity target of 45 gigawatt (GW) by 2030.
The fundraising plan showed Adani Group’s rising confidence in tapping funding sources locally and overseas.
It has been steadily clawing back support from investors and lenders in recent months after a damaging broadside from Hindenburg Research earlier this year that plunged it into crisis for months.
The warrants, convertible in multiple tranches over 18 months, will be issued to founders’ Adani Properties Pvt and Ardour Investment Holding Ltd, according to the filing.
Adani Green will seek shareholders’ approval for the fund raising plan at an EGM on Jan 18.
Separately, the billionaire’s power infrastructure arm Adani Energy Solutions Ltd announced that it will spend 30 billion rupees (US$360mil) to build a power line that will draw electricity from what’s being billed as the world’s largest renewables park.
The conglomerate won the Halvad transmission project in an auction.
It plans to complete it within two years, the company said in a filing yesterday.
The Halvad line will draw power from the Khavda park in Gujarat.
Here, India plans to install 30GW of wind and solar capacity to benefit from the vast swathes of sun-soaked land near India’s western coast.
Adani had said he’d build 20GW of hybrid capacity at the site.
The 301-km line, part of the national grid, will draw seven GW of power from the park, according to yesterday’s statement.
India is planning to nearly triple its clean energy capacity by the end of the decade, mostly through solar and wind projects, to decarbonise its fossil fuel-driven economy.
The nation aims to invest US$29bil to build transmission lines to connect green power to the grid. — Bloomberg
