Renewable energy firm Enel Green Power SpA, a part of Italian power and gas company Enel spA, is venturing into India with a plan to buy a controlling stake in Bharat Light and Power Pvt Ltd (BLP), a clean energy company floated by former CEO of GE India.
Enel Green Power is in talks to make an initial investment of €50 million ($55.6 million), Francesco Venturini, CEO of the firm, told an Italian newspaper this week. Previously The Economic Times had said the discussion is on for the deal, citing unnamed sources.
When contacted, an Enel Group spokesperson confirmed the development without sharing any further information.
Another email sent to BLP, remained unanswered till the time of filing this article.
Delhi-based BLP, founded by former General Electric India head Tejpreet Singh Chopra, focuses on on-grid and off-grid clean energy projects such as those using wind and solar as sources to generate power.
It aims to operate 1 gigawatt of renewable energy projects by 2020. Currently it has 170 MW of wind power assets.
Bulk of this was through a two-year-old acquisition where it bought realtor DLF's 150 MW capacity wind turbine at Kutch in Gujarat for 325.38 crore ($54 million). This deal value was inclusive of equity and debt component.
According to its website, it also has interest in the solar power space.
The firm had raised a Series A round of funding from early-stage investors Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ) and VenturEast in December 2011. A year later, it also roped in India Infrastructure Development Fund as an investor.
Enel Green Power's CEO told the Italian newspaper that negotiations with BLP began several months ago though an Indian firm. He said Enel Green Power is also focusing on solar photovoltaic tenders being launched by the Indian government.
The India push would mark the first investment in Asia by Enel, which derives 60 per cent of its revenues from Italy and Spain.
Enel Group develops and manages energy generation from renewable sources and is focused on Europe and the Americas.
It has an installed capacity of 9,924 MW, produced by 739 plants in 15 countries and with a generation mix that includes wind, solar, hydro, geothermal and biomass.
