Actis-backed Sprng acquires India solar portfolio

The purchase brings Sprng’s total capacity, including operating and under construction assets, to 1,650 MW. Of this, 450 MW is operational. Financial terms have not been disclosed, though Indian media have reported the deal value is around $70 million.

Actis launched Sprng in 2017 as the successor to Ostro Energy, a similar platform founded in 2014 to bid on power generation contracts and build and operate renewable energy assets. Ostro a total capacity of 1,100 MW across wind and solar assets by the time Actis exited the platform to ReNew Power Ventures in 2018. It was also the seventh-largest channel for foreign direct investment in India’s renewable energy sector, according to India Brand Equity Foundation.

The strategy was a departure from Actis’ approach in other markets, where the firm builds platforms by acquiring an operating energy asset and bolting on others. Actis initially tried this pattern in India but decided to buy contacts and build its own assets because it felt the valuations demanded by local players were out of line with the state of the market.

Sprng was capitalized with $450 million from Actis’ fourth emerging markets energy fund, which closed in 2017 with $2.75 billion for investments in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. The platform is targeting more than 2,000 MW of capacity by 2020, when peak power demand in India is expected to reach nearly 300 gigawatts.

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• Topics
• South Asia
• Infrastructure
• Buyouts
• India
• Actis Capital
• energy
• Cleantech