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The company has appointed ICICI Securities Ltd as lead merchant banker for the proposed IPO.

Clenergen India Pvt Ltd, a Chennai-based company in the renewable energy space, is planning to tap the market with its initial public offer (IPO) to raise around $82.76 million. The company has already appointed ICICI Securities Ltd as lead merchant banker for the proposed IPO, which will hit the market in March 2010.

Clenergen India will utilise the proceeds for developing two gasification technology based power plants of 16MW and 64MW in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka respectively, which will together add production capacity of around 80 MW/Hr, said a company statement. It has earmarked a total investment of $236.47 million for these plants, out of which $82.76 million will be raised through equity. The company will raise the remaining $153.70 million through long-term debt. It has appointed Ernst and Young for this purpose. 

Out of the total equity of $82.76 million, Clenergen India will raise $65 million through a public placement of shares, while the remaining $17.76 million will be raised from its parent company Clenergen Corporation, USA and private placement of shares. 

Clenergen India is a wholly owned subsidiary of Clenergen Corporation, USA. Last month, the company said that it was in talks to acquire a 1.5-MW biomass power plant in Tamil Nadu, and start its commercial operation in the last quarter of 2010. 

Private equity and venture capital players are eyeing investments in the cleantech space in India. According to a report, released by The Cleantech Group and Deloitte, India accounted for 11% of the total $1.2-billion cleantech investments made globally in the April-June quarter 2009, while China got only 1%.

Some prominent cleantech-focused funds include the $200-million South Asia Clean Energy Fund, backed by Global Environment Fund and Yes Bank, and Aloe Private Equity, which is seeking opportunities in India and China. IL&FS Investment Managers Ltd and DFJ have also made several investments in this space. Recently, a new fund has been launched called Prithvi Sustainability Innovation and Technology Fund with a proposed corpus of $150 million to invest in this space.