Indian Oil unit may buy 50% in Fourth Partner

$400mn deal may mark Indian Oil's first acquisition in green energy

- Utpal Bhaskar

Indian Oil Corp., the country's largest crude oil refiner, plans to acquire a 50% stake in renewable energy firm Fourth Partner Energy Pvt. Ltd (FPEL) through its subsidiary Terra Clean Ltd in a deal with an estimated equity value of about $400 million, according to two people aware of the development.

The deal, if it goes forward, will mark the state-run oil marketing company's first acquisition in the green energy space. It will be a mix of primary and secondary share transactions and will provide a partial exit to Hyderabad-based Fourth Partner Energy's stakeholders—the World Bank’s International Finance Corp (IFC), Asian Development Bank (ADB), Germany's Deutsche Investitionsund Entwicklungsgesellschaft (DEG), TPG Capital’s RISE Fund, and Norway's Norfund.

"Indian Oil’s renewable energy subsidiary, Terra Clean Ltd, is in talks for a stake in Fourth Partner Energy. However, nothing has been finalised," one of the two people said, requesting anonymity.

Terra Clean was set up in May 2024 as a wholly owned unit of Indian Oil and plans to install 5.3 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy capacity.