JSW Neo Energy, a wholly owned subsidiary of JSW Energy, on Friday signed a definitive agreement to acquire 4.7 gigawatt (GW)from O2 Power for a total enterprise value of Rs 12,468 crore.
The transaction entails acquisition of O2 Power Midco Holdings and O2 Energy SG and is subject to approval of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) and other customary approvals standard to a transaction of this size, the company said.
O2 Power is a renewable energy platform with a capacity of 4.7 GW where 2.26 GW will be operational by June 2025, 1.46 GW is currently under construction, and an additional 974 MW are in the pipeline, all scheduled for commissioning by June 2027.
“The platform has a blended average tariff of Rs 3.37/KWh with remaining life of ~23 years. The capacities are spread across seven resource-rich states of India,” the company said.
The acquisition is expected to increase the company’s locked-in generation capacity by 23%, from 20.02 GW to 24.71 GW.
“We are thrilled to announce the acquisition of O2 Power’s 4.7 GW renewable energy platform which is JSW Energy’s largest acquisition since inception. This landmark acquisition strengthens our positioning as a leading player in India’s energy sector.These high-quality assets strengthen our operational footprint across key resource-rich states,” said Sharad Mahendra, joint managing director and CEO of JSW Energy.
Commenting on the deal, Parag Sharma, CEO of O2 Power, said, “This marks the beginning of the next phase for O2 Power. We had started with the vision to build a RE platform with a strong portfolio, and have been successful in delivering the targets we had set out with. In the days ahead, as we evolve, it will be our endeavour to continue building value for all our stakeholders, both external and internal, and ensure that we significantly contribute to India’s renewable energy goals.”
PWC was the transaction advisor to the company, while Khaitan & Co and Herbert Smith were the legal advisors. KPMG carried out financial and tax due diligence and Wind Guard carried out the technical due diligence.
“The acquisition of O2 Power’s renewable energy platform is significantly value accretive to the shareholders of JSW Energy. This is a very attractive acquisition – both from ‘Build vs Buy’ trade off as well asfrom a quality and value perspective when compared to allacquisitions in this space over recent times, and isconsistent with our long track record of being prudent in capital allocation and focusing on high cash returnsprojects above our hurdle rate of mid-teen Equity IRR,” said Pritesh Vinay, Director (Finance) and CFO of JSW Energy.
The majority of the capacity of the platform is tied-up under long-term power purchase agreement (“PPA”) with quality off-takers with high credit rating, according to the company. Further, the C&I (commercial and industrial) capacity of the platform stands at 596 MW which takes the company’s total C&I capacity to 3.6 GW including JSW Group C&I capacity of 2.6 GW.