Virescent Renewable Energy Trust Raises Rs 2,150 Cr Through Various Investors

KKR-backed Virescent Renewable Energy Trust (VRET) has raised funds to the tune of Rs 2,150 crore through various financing instruments.

VRET has raised Rs 1,000 crore in its debut issuance across 3, 5 and 7 year tranches, a company release said, adding that this transaction marks the first ever issuance by a Renewable Energy InvIT in India.

The has become the first Renewable Energy InvIT in India to raise INR 1,000 crores via NCDs. VRET has also tied up an additional Rs 1,000 crore of long-term financing from L&T Finance. This ensures complete debt tie-up for VRETs immediate near-term acquisition pipeline, the company said.

Further, VRET has availed a working capital facility of Rs 150 crore from Tata Capital to enhance its liquidity position and meet its credit rating requirements.

The company will primarily use the proceeds to refinance existing debt at the special purpose vehicle (SPV) level as well as fund future acquisitions.

This incredible achievement is an important milestone in VRET’s journey, demonstrating our debt fund raising capabilities at competitive pricing with different instruments and maturity profiles and reposing the faith of lenders in VRET,” Sanjay Grewal, CEO, Virescent Infrastructure said in the statement.

Grewal further added that “we look forward to working closely with our lenders as we continue to acquire high-quality assets for achieving our initial growth targets.” VRET has expanded its Board and has appointed Akshay Jaitly as an independent director, a company statement said.

“We are extremely happy to induct Akshay Jaitly on our Board and we will benefit from his legal/regulatory knowledge and experience in the infrastructure and renewable sectors,” Grewal said.

The other Independent Directors include Pradeep Kumar Panja, CMD – Karnataka Bank and Member – Bank Board Bureau and Vinay Kumar Pabba, former CEO of Brookfield Renewables and Ex-COO of Greenko.

In September this year, VRET has raised Rs 460 crore from a group of investors led by Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo).