Billionaire Kumar Birla To Buy Shell’s Indian Renewable Business In $1.8 Billion Deal

A unit of the Aditya Birla Group—the flagship company of Indian billionaire Kumar Birla—agreed to buy Shell’s renewable energy business in India for an enterprise value of 172 billion rupees ($1.8 billion) amid growing demand for clean energy in the world’s most populous country.Under the deal, Aditya Birla Renewables will buy 100% of Solenergi Power, the owner of Sprng Energy, which operates Shell’s renewable energy assets in the country, according to a statement from Aditya Birla Group late Monday.“This is about strengthening our nation’s energy future, enhancing industrial competitiveness, and creating the foundations for sustained economic growth,” Kumar Birla, chairman of the Aditya Birla Group, said in the statement.The deal is expected to be completed by the end of the year, subject to regulatory approvals. It will add 5 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity to the group’s existing 4.4-gigawatt portfolio, more than doubling its total capacity. The acquisition will be financed through a mix of debt and equity from its parent, Grasim Industries, and BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Partners.“Having almost achieved our 10 gigawatts target ahead of time, we are now on track to double capacity in the next few years,” Aryaman Vikram Birla, director of Aditya Birla Group and Aditya Birla Renewables said.India plans to double its installed renewable energy capacity to 500 gigawatts by 2030 amid booming demand from energy guzzlers such as AI-driven data centers. Some of the country’s wealthiest tycoons are stepping up investments in green energy. Billionaire Gautam Adani has pledged to invest $55 billion in the sector and is developing a 30-gigawatt solar and wind farm in Khavda in the western Indian state of Gujarat.With a real-time net worth of $21.8 billion, Birla is among the wealthiest in India, according to Forbes’ data. Besides energy, his business interests span aluminum manufacturing, cement, textiles, telecommunications, financial services, and paints.