JSW Energy raises Rs 5,000 crore from Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, others

JSW Energy Limited has raised Rs 5,000 crore by selling shares to institutional investors, including Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), to accelerate its growth plans.

In a regulatory filing on Friday, the company informed that it has successfully completed its Rs 5,000-crore Qualified Institutions Placement (QIP).

JSW Energy said, the proceeds from the QIP will further bolster its capital structure, enhance financial flexibility and enable the company to accelerate its ambitious growth plans.

"The issue garnered a very strong interest from marquee global long-only investors, domestic mutual funds and insurance companies...," it added.

The QIP witnessed more than 3.2 times subscription.

Some of the largest global asset managers, such as GQG, Blackrock, Nomura, Wellington, UBS and ADIA, participated in the QIP issue.

"This marks the first-ever equity raise by the company since its listing in 2010," JSW Energy said.

This is the largest primary equity raise in the Indian power sector in the last decade and among the top three largest primary equity raises in the history of the Indian power sector, the company said.

Sharad Mahendra, joint managing director and CEO of JSW Energy, said: "India's strong investment cycle-driven economic growth momentum bodes well for power demand outlook. The strong institutional investor interest reflects their unwavering confidence in our positioning as a diversified energy transition platform focused on growing both the generation and storage businesses, with optionality for green hydrogen and its derivatives."

At JSW Energy, he said, "We are not just witnessing the transformation of the energy sector, we are actively shaping it, setting new benchmarks for industry leadership, and aiding India's journey towards net-zero targets by 2070."

Jefferies India Private Limited was the sole book running lead manager. Khaitan & Co. was the legal counsel to the company while Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co. and Linklaters Singapore Pte. Ltd. were counsels to the book running lead manager.

JSW Energy Limited, a part of the USD 23-billion JSW Group, has presence in sectors such as steel, energy, infrastructure, cement and sports, among others.

JSW Energy began commercial operations in 2000, with the commissioning of its first 2x130 MW thermal power plants at Vijayanagar, Karnataka.

Since then, the company has steadily enhanced its power generation capacity from 260 MW to 7,189 MW having a portfolio of thermal 3,508 MW, wind 1,615 MW, hydel 1,391 MW and solar 675 MW.

The company is presently constructing various power projects to the tune of 2.6 GW. JSW Energy has total locked-in generation capacity of 12.5 GW comprising 7.2 GW operational, 2.6 GW under-construction assets.

Besides, the company has 3.4 GWh of locked-in energy storage capacity through battery energy storage system and hydro pumped storage project.

The company aims to reach 20 GW generation capacity and 40 GWh of energy storage capacity before 2030. It has set the target of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.