Blackstone, Serentica, JSW eye Statkraft's India assets

Adani Group in the fray to acquire Norwegian energy firm's hydropower plants

- Sneha Shah & Priyamvada C

Global private equity (PE) firm Blackstone and Gurugram-based Serentica Renewables are leading the race to acquire the solar assets of Norwegian energy firm Statkraft in India, while Adani Group and JSW Group are in the fray to acquire its hydropower plants, three people in the know said.

Serentica, which is backed by PE firm KKR, has also bid for Statkraft's wind assets in India.

Statkraft's solar assets in the country are likely to be valued at ₹1,700-1,800 crore and the hydro assets at ₹1,400-1,500 crore, according to the people familiar with the developments.

"The binding bids have been submitted and the seller will proceed with one of the buyers for each category of assets," one of them said.

EY Norway is advising Statkraft on the sale. Statkraft India has a total renewable energy portfolio of around 1GW, including solar energy and hydropower assets. These include a 76MW operational solar power plant and an additional 75MW solar power capacity being developed in Tamil Nadu. A 445MW solar power project in Rajasthan is nearing completion.