ONGC-NTPC joint venture's ₹6,600 crore deal for Ayana Renewable among the largest in India's green energy space

ONGC NTPC Green Pvt. Ltd (ONGPL) signed a deal on Wednesday to buy National Investment and Infrastructure Fund Ltd (NIIF)-backed Ayana Renewable Power Pvt. Ltd for an equity value of ₹6,600 crore, two people aware of the development said.

The Bengaluru-headquartered Ayana Renewable is majority-owned by NIIF. Its other shareholders include the UK government’s British International Investment (BII) and Eversource Capital that have invested $1 billion in the business. While BII launched Ayana in 2018, NIIF and Eversource invested in it in 2019.

“ONGC NTPC Green Pvt Ltd (ONGPL), a 50:50 joint venture between ONGC Green Ltd (OGL) and NTPC Green Energy Ltd (NGEL), has signed a share purchase agreement (SPA) on 12th February 2025 with National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), British International Investment Plc and its subsidiaries (BII) and Eversource Capital to acquire a 100% equity stake in Ayana Renewable Power Private Limited (Ayana) for an enterprise value of ₹195 billion ($2.3 billion)," the companies said in a joint statement.

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Mint reported on 7 November 2024 that a combine of state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp. Ltd (ONGC) and NTPC Ltd had secured exclusivity to close the deal.

Given the changing hydrocarbon energy landscape, ONGC has been aggressively looking at acquisitions in the clean energy space. Also, NTPC has been active in India’s green energy space and has a 14.69 gigawatt (GW) renewable energy portfolio, of which 2.92 GW is operational and 11.77 GW is contracted and awarded. It also has a 10.97 GW pipeline, and is targeting 60 GW green energy capacity by 2032.

“This transaction marks a significant milestone for ONGPL as its first strategic acquisition since its establishment in November 2024, accelerating its expansion into the renewable energy sector and reinforcing its commitment to sustainability. It aligns with the broader vision of its ultimate parent companies (ONGC and NTPC) to achieve their net zero targets by 2038 and 2050 respectively," the statement added.

The sale process, run by Standard Chartered, will rank among the largest transactions in India’s green energy space. Ayana has a 4.1-GW portfolio of operational and under-construction projects, and plans to build a 10-GW portfolio by 2025. It has projects in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Rajasthan, and Gujarat.

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Mint earlier also reported that ONGC, JSW Group’s JSW Neo Energy, and Singapore’s Sembcorp Industries Ltd were shortlisted to submit binding bids for acquiring a significant majority stake in Ayana Renewable after their submission of non-binding offers (NBOs).

“With Ayana well-positioned for its next phase of growth, this transaction enables us to unlock value while continuing to catalyse global institutional capital into transformative infrastructure opportunities," said Vinod Giri, managing partner, master fund, NIIF in the statement.

“This also aligns with NGEL’s mission of achieving the ambitious target of 60 GW by FY 32," said Rajiv Gupta, CEO, NTPC Green Energy.

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Given India’s ever-increasing demand for power, the country’s green energy space has witnessed tremendous interest. India has a renewable energy capacity of 217.62 GW, with it adding 24.5 GW of solar capacity and 3.4 GW of wind capacity in 2024.

Recently, General Atlantic-owned Actis LLP inked a share purchase agreement to acquire Macquarie Group’s green energy platform Stride Climate Investments, in a deal with an enterprise value of $325 million. Also, JSW Neo Energy in December announced buying O2 Power, owned by European alternative asset manager EQT and Singapore’s Temasek, for an enterprise value of $1.47 billion.