Fourth Partner Energy in talks to raise $100 million
1 min read 20 Jan 2021, 05:29 AM ISTFourth Partner has received interest from Norfund, which is in talks to infuse $100 mn to fund its growth
PremiumMUMBAI : TPG Capital-backed Fourth Partner Energy Pvt. Ltd is in talks to raise $100 million from private market investors amid rising investor interest in distributed renewable energy providers, three people aware of the matter said seeking anonymity.
Distributed solar energy companies provide power to businesses, commercial office buildings, and industrial units directly using rooftop solar installations or captive solar capacities. Large solar parks, on the other hand, feed power to a central grid.
Fourth Partner has received interest from Norwegian sovereign wealth fund Norfund, which is in talks to infuse $100 million into the firm to fund its growth, said one of the three people mentioned above. “Norfund is bullish on green energy investments in India and has been scouting the market for a bunch of investments. Solar power cost has come down significantly, making it much cheaper for industries to source power from distributed solar power providers than the grid and thus investor interest is growing in this segment," said the second person.
Mint reported in July that green energy companies such as ReNew Power and Azure Power aim to sell their distributed solar operating assets to raise funds on the back of increasing investor interest in this segment. “As a matter of policy, we do not respond to queries related to potential investments," Norfund said in an email response to Mint’s queries. “Fundraising is an on-going process at Fourth Partner Energy. However, we will not be able to comment further on any particular development at the moment," said a spokesperson for the company.
Investment bank Investec is advising Fourth Partner, while Avendus Capital is advising Norfund on the transaction, said the third person. Avendus Capital chose not to comment.
ICRA had reaffirmed its BBB+ rating for Fourth Partner Energy in November citing its demonstrated track record in establishing distributed solar power projects. It has built 251MW of owned and down sold capacity since inception, the rating agency said.
