GIP looks to invest in Aditya Birla Renewables

GIP EM Star Pte, an entity of top global asset management firm BlackRock, has sought the Competition Commission of India's (CCI) approval for acquiring a minority stake in Aditya Birla Renewables. The transaction "won't cause an appreciable adverse effect" on competition, it has said in a filing with the regulator.In December, Aditya Birla Renewables said it had finalised an investment of up to Rs 3,000 crore by the BlackRock affiliate Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP).The deal marked one of the largest primary commitments for a minority stake in a renewables platform in India, valuing Aditya Birla Renewables at Rs 14,600 crore, the company added.GIP’s investment would lay "a strong foundation for an accelerated buildout of our renewables platform, as we target a capacity of 10 gigawatt-plus in the coming years", Aditya Birla Group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla had said.Aditya Birla Renewables, an arm of Grasim, has a diversified pan-India renewable energy portfolio of over 4.3 gigawatt across 10 states.“The proposed transaction involves the acquirer’s subscription to a proportion of the equity share capital of the target,” GIP EM Star, which is incorporated in Singapore, said in the filing with the competition regulator.It stressed that there are “no horizontal overlaps, vertical and/or complementary linkages” between the business activities of the acquirer and the target in India.“However, certain investments, which meet materiality thresholds, of BlackRock, may have limited horizontal and potential vertical and/or complementary linkages with the target,” it said in the filing.Nevertheless, the proposed deal won’t have any appreciable adverse impact on competition in India, “irrespective of the manner in which the relevant markets are delineated,” it added.