Dec 11 (Reuters) - Some of the biggest investors in
ReNew Energy Global ( RNW ) have offered to take the company
private, filings to the U.S. Securities And Exchange Commission
(SEC) show, in a deal that values the clean power generator at
$2.82 billion, according to Reuters calculations.
Major shareholders Canada Pension Plan Investment Board,
UAE-based Masdar, ReNew Chairman Sumant Sinha and a unit of the
Abu Dhabi Investment Authority have offered to buy shares in
India's second largest clean energy generator at $7.07 each.
The consortium has collective voting rights of 64% in ReNew,
which is India's second biggest renewable energy firm after
Adani Green.
The offer represents an 11.5% premium to ReNew's closing
price of $6.34 on Nasdaq on Dec. 10. The valuation is based on a
total of 398.61 million diluted shares outstanding as of Aug.
15, according to the company's website.
Shares of ReNew closed 17.7% higher at $7.46 on the Nasdaq
on Wednesday, 5.5% above the offer price.
ReNew operates 10.3 gigawatts (GW) of solar, wind, hydro and
hybrid projects across India. Its stock had lost nearly 18% of
its value this year before the offer was made.
In a letter to the lead independent director of ReNew's
board attached to the SEC filings, the consortium said the
proposal would provide the company's shareholders with
"immediate liquidity not available in the public markets".
CreditSights, a unit of Fitch Group, noted ReNew's delisting
from NASDAQ would lead to poorer disclosures and leave it unable
to raise funds from the U.S. public equity markets.
But it said the move would lower compliance and regulatory
costs for the company's ambitious expansion plans.
"It will ... introduce a new reputed UAE state-owned
shareholder Masdar that could open up more funding channels in
the UAE/Middle East," CreditSights said in a note, adding that
ReNew's equity valuations had been weak for a prolonged period.
Masdar said in a statement the proposal "would provide
capital investment to support the country's energy transition".
The offer, if approved by the board, would mean an exit for
Japan's top utility JERA, which owned 11.7% of Class A shares in
the company, according to ReNew's annual filing in July. It was
not immediately clear if JERA still held a stake of that size in
the company.
Goldman Sachs ( GS ), one of ReNew's earliest investors, sold its
entire stake after the energy company went public in 2021.