Japanese conglomerate SoftBank Group is reportedly in talks to sell its 80% stake in Indian green energy firm SBG Cleantech.
Interested parties include Mubadala Investment, Brookfield Asset Management and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB).
SBG Cleantech is a joint venture established by SoftBank and Bharti Enterprises. The company says it has invested nearly $800m in its 7.7GW Indian solar portfolio.
According to two people with knowledge of the process, the company has appointed Bank of America and Barclays to run the sale. The banks have also raised approximately $500m through a dollar bond.
Before this, the Japanese firm appointed Mizuho Bank to find a ‘significant minority investor’ to sell its stake to.
Livemint quoted a SoftBank spokesperson as saying: “SB Energy is exploring potential co-investment partnerships to accelerate the growth of its leading renewable energy platform.
“Given recent and growing interest in environmental, social and governance investments at scale, SoftBank decided to take further steps towards identifying a growth partner. SoftBank is committed to the long-term success of SB Energy.”
Bank of America and CPPIB spokespersons declined to comment. Meanwhile, Bharti Enterprises, Mubadala, Brookfield, Barclays, and Mizuho did not respond to requests for comment.
Last August, SoftBank Vision Fund invested $110m in a Series B funding round for renewable energy storage products manufacturer Energy Vault. The funding round is Vision Fund’s first investment in energy storage.
Energy Vault used the investment to fast-track growth and speed up the worldwide deployment of its utility-scale energy storage technology.
