ACEN Corp., the renewable energy arm of the Ayala Group, has completed the first step in its planned divestment of up to 49 percent of a solar project in India, bringing in Diamond India Renewables One B.V. as a minority investor as the Philippine renewable energy company continues to recycle capital into its expanding portfolio.
ACEN said the transaction closed on Sept. 23 after all conditions under the Securities Subscription and Purchase Agreement were satisfied, with Diamond India Renewables acquiring an initial 10 percent voting interest in Tejorupa Renewables India Project Private Ltd.
The deal forms part of an agreement announced in June covering the potential sale of up to 49 percent of Tejorupa, which is developing and constructing a 250-megawatt alternating-current solar project in Rajasthan.
The transaction will be completed in stages, leaving ACEN and its partners with majority ownership after the initial sale. Diamond India Renewables could eventually raise its stake to 49 percent.
The June agreements were signed by Unlimited Renewables Holdings B.V., an ACEN subsidiary, and Amsa Solar Holdco Pte. Ltd., an entity under ACEN’s joint venture with UPC Renewables for India projects, with Diamond India Renewables.
The structure gives ACEN a way to bring in a financial partner as the Rajasthan project moves through development and construction, potentially easing the capital burden of building out new renewable capacity while allowing the company to retain control.
The latest disclosure did not give the value of the 10 percent transaction or specify when the remaining stake could be sold.
The transaction also illustrates the increasingly important role of portfolio recycling in renewable energy development for ACEN, where stakes in maturing or developing projects can be monetized, and capital redeployed into new capacity.
Tejorupa’s 250-MWac project adds to ACEN’s growing Indian renewable energy footprint, while the staged divestment leaves room for further changes in the project’s ownership as development progresses.
