The proposed tie-up comes ahead of the submission of binding bids by multiple parties for the mega deal which is expected by the end of this week, these sources added.
“NIIF is aggressively chasing this asset and is planning to join hands with Temasek for the deal. This consortium is seen as a strong contender,” said one of the persons above.
Two other persons confirmed the same. One of them said that the valuation of the deal is likely to be above $1.6 billion.
A fourth person said that private equity major KKR, Actis LLP and Aditya Birla Group are the other suitors expected to put in final bids for the transaction following due diligence. Investment bank Barclays is managing the sale process, according to earlier media reports
All the four persons above spoke to Moneycontrol on the condition of anonymity.
In response to an email query from Moneycontrol, a Shell spokesperson said , “Shell confirms we are reviewing strategic options to unlock long-term value for Sprng. It’s too early to comment on an outcome for the review.”
NIIF did not respond to a request for comment while a query to Aditya Birla Group was left unanswered at the time of publishing this article. KKR, Temasek and Actis declined to comment.
Back in 2022, Shell acquired Sprng from Actis for $1.55 billion. This is the second attempt at a transaction by the global energy major after an earlier attempt at a part stake sale across multiple assets in 2023 did not fructify into an eventual transaction. The strategic review comes as the firm’s top brass pivots from low-carbon projects to focus on liquified natural gas trading and upstream.
Incidentally, prior to his appointment as the CEO and MD of NIIF, Sanjiv Aggarwal led the energy business of Actis in Asia and drove its clean energy bets in India.
Pune-based Sprng Energy is present in solar energy, wind energy, hybrid projects and RTC (round-the-clock) solutions across Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. According to the firm, the firm has a contracted ( total) capacity of 5026.53 MWp and an operational capacity of 2300.48 MWp.
In December 2025, Blackrock arm Global Infrastructure Partners invested ₹3,000 crore in Aditya Birla Renewables Limited valuing the renewable player at ₹14,000 crore. KKR backs renewable energy platform Serentica Renewables in India as well as Hero Future Energies and in 2020, launched India’s first renewable energy focused InvIT Virescent Infrastructure.
On the other hand, Actis launched BluePine Energy in 2022, an Indian renewable independent power producer, targeting 4GW+ of solar, wind, and storage capacity. Reports have suggested the UK investor may now be evaluating an exit. In February 2025, NIIF and other co-investors sold Ayana Renewable Energy to a JV between ONGC and NTPC Green Energy. In March, NIIF secured commitments of $ 750 million for its second Private Markets Fund (PMF II).
(Edited by : Srabastee Biswas)
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