ArcelorMitta has joined to race to acquire Sprng Energy, the India arm of Actis, along with Royal Dutch Shell, Adani Group, Singapore’s Sembcorp Energy, and Canadian pension fund CPPIB, in a buyout likely to cost $2 billion.
This could be the first time in India that a steel manufacturer is looking at such as big acquisition in green energy.
ArcelorMittal, the world’s biggest steel maker, is looking at cleaner energy sources to decarbonize production around the world and in India. Steel mills account for up to a tenth of global carbon dioxide emissions.
Last year Actis has appointed Bank of America to officially begin the selling process for Sprng Energy. This was Actis’ second platform, following the sale of Ostro Energy, its initial green power platform, to ReNew Power Ventures in 2018 for $1.5 billion.
Sprng Energy had inked power purchase agreements (PPAs) for 2.6 gigawatts (GW), of which 2.1 GW will be functional by March 2022 and another 600 MW by March 2023. The EBITDA for all contracted assets in FY22 is estimated to be $220 million. The firm has increased its portfolio by acquiring assets with a throughput of 600 MW from Acme Cleantech in 2021 and the Shapoorji Pallonji Group’s 194 MW solar energy portfolio in 2019.
The acquisition is part of a $10 billion global green transformation strategy that kicked off in 2020.
