Total To Acquire 20% Stake In Adani Green Energy
Total will buy a 20% stake in Adani Green from the promoter group, and half the ownership in solar assets for $2.5 billion.
Total SE will acquire a minority stake in Adani Green Energy Ltd. as the French company bets on India’s push for cleaner fuels.
Total will buy a 20% stake in Adani Green from the promoter group, and half the ownership in operative solar assets for $2.5 billion, according to a company statement. As of September 2020, the promoter group held 74.92% stake in Adani Green.
“The investment in Adani Green is another step in the strategic alliance between Adani Group and Total across various businesses and companies of the group,” the statement said. Total and the Adani Group had earlier entered into a partnership in 2018 when the French company acquired a 37.4% stake in Adani Gas and a 50% stake in the Dhamra LNG project.
Total Chief Executive Officer Patrick Pouyanne, in the statement, said, “Given the size of the market, India is the right place to put into action/to deploy our energy transition strategy based on two pillars—renewables and natural gas.”
Adani Green Energy has more than 14.6 gigawatts of contracted renewable capacity, with an operating capacity of 3 GW, another 3 GW under construction and 8.6 GW under development. The company has plans to achieve 25 GW of renewable power generation by 2025.
This comes at a time India aims to increase its existing renewable energy capacity to 220 gigawatts by 2022, as it tackles one of the worst air pollution problems in the world. The nation accounted for 21% of global sulfur dioxide emissions, which increases the risks of heart and lung diseases, mostly from coal-fired power plants that lack pollution-curbing equipment, Bloomberg reported citing a report from Greenpeace India and the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air.
Shares of Adani Green Energy fell as much as 3% but recovered from the day’s low after the announcement. The stock is currently trading 1.6% lower at Rs 932.1 apiece.