13 Bids For Minority Stake Sale in NTPC Green Energy

According to the sources 13 bids have been received for a minority stake sale by NTPC Green Energy Limited. The companies who have shown interest are ArcelorMittal, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), Brookfield, Abu Dhabi’s TAQA and National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) and Petronas among others.

NTPC is looking to sell minority stake to raise up to Rs 2,000 crore and doubled its plan for non-fossil fuel sources based power to 132 Gw by 2032 at an estimated investment of $30 billion, said senior executives. This includes solar, wind, hydro, nuclear and also green fuels.

Business Standard reported that NTPC would reduce its stake in NTPC-Renewable Energy ltd (NREL) and plan to list it in coming financial years.

According to the senior executives NTPC will make a private placement offering and then proceed with a public sale. The company was targeting a range of 10-15% but could take it up to 26 percent, he said.

At present NTPC is working on many RE Projects, including the mega solar power plant in Khavda (Gujarat), where it will install 5 GW of solar power. The company is currently inviting expressions of interest to set up 15 GW of module and solar cell manufacturing.

Also the company is said to soon issue a 3GW of storage tender. Recently, the company announced that it would be setting up India’s first Green Hydrogen-based Energy Storage Project at its Simhadri power station in Andhra Pradesh.

The stake sale at NGEL is part of the asset monetisation goal of NTPC, which has been set at Rs 15,000 crore over three years. Along with listing NGEL, NTPC will also look to reduce its stake in two companies – NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam ltd. (NVVN), which is it’s power trading arm, and North Eastern Electric Power Corporation ltd. (NEEPCO). NEEPCO was previously owned by the Union Government of India. NTPC bought 100 percent stake in NEEPCO by March 2020. This was to help the Centre achieve its divestment goal.