NE BUSINESS BUREAU
MUMBAI, OCT 10
Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) on Sunday acquired Norwegian-headquartered solar module maker REC Solar Holdings (REC Group) for an enterprise value of $771 million (around Rs 5,800 crore) from China National Bluestar. REC Group is a leading international solar energy company for pioneering innovations. It is known for its high-efficiency, long-life solar cells and panels for clean and affordable solar power.
“Reliance New Energy Solar Ltd (RNESL), a wholly owned subsidiary of RIL, has acquired REC Solar Holdings AS (REC Group) from China National Bluestar (Group) Co Ltd., for an enterprise value of $771 million,” RIL said in a statement.
- REC Solar will be key part of Reliance’s New Energy Vision to become a global scale PV manufacturing player with industry leading ‘HJT’ cell technology
- Chairman Mukesh Ambani calls it a testimony to Reliance’s commitment to ‘Care For The Planet’ & ‘Care For The People’
RIL said that REC has more than 1,300 employees globally and they will become proud members of the Reliance Family after the successful completion of the transaction and become an integral part of the team that is driving one of the world’s most ambitious mission to drive green energy transition.
Reliance will strongly support for REC’s planned expansions including 2-3 GW Cells and Module capacity in Singapore, brand new 2 GW Cells and Module unit in France and another 1 GW Modules plant in the US.
In India, Reliance plans to use this industry leading technology in their fully integrated, metallic Silicon to PV Panel manufacturing giga factory at Dhirubhai Ambani Green Energy Giga Complex, Jamnagar initially starting with 4 GW per annum capacity and eventually growing to 10 GW per annum. Reliance’s deep expertise of scale, project execution and operational excellence coupled with REC’s technology will facilitate the establishment of state-of-the-art next-generation fully integrated PV manufacturing facility at Dhirubhai Ambani Green Energy Giga Complex and subsequently replicate such complexes around the world. The acquisition of REC will help Reliance with a ready global platform and the opportunity to expand and grow in key green energy markets globally, including in the US, Europe, Australia and elsewhere in Asia.
Speaking about the acquisition, Mukesh Ambani, Chairman of Reliance Industries Limited, said: “I am immensely pleased with our acquisition of REC because it will help Reliance tap the unlimited and year-long power of Soorya Dev, the Sun God, that India is fortunate to be blessed with. It is in line with our strategy of investing in new and advanced technologies and operating capabilities aimed at achieving Reliance’s goal of enabling 100 GW clean and green energy before the end of this decade. This will constitute the largest contribution by a single company to Honourable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s target for India to produce 450 GW renewable energy by 2030. It will enable India to become a world leader in green energy transition to overcome the climate crisis.
Together with our other recent investments, Reliance is now ready to set up a global scale integrated Photovoltaic Giga factory and make India a manufacturing hub for lowest cost and highest efficiency solar panels. We will continue to invest, build and collaborate with global players to achieve the highest reliability, efficiency and economies to deliver high-quality, reliable power at affordable prices to our customers both in India and markets worldwide. I am especially happy about the opportunity to facilitate creation of millions of green employment opportunities in a decentralised manner in rural and urban areas.
As I heartily welcome multinational employees of REC into the Reliance Family, I assure them that they will now become participants in one of the most exciting and ambitious missions to lead India and the world into a new era of green energy-led sustainable and inclusive development. With utmost commitment and determination, we shall together do our bit to Care For Mother Earth and to Care For All The People On The Planet, which is central to Reliance’s business philosophy.”
Goldman Sachs is acting as the exclusive financial advisor and Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP are acting as the legal advisor to Reliance in this transaction.
