Adani Green Said in Advanced Talks for SoftBank’s SB Energy

(Bloomberg) -- Adani Green Energy Ltd., majority-owned by Indian billionaire Gautam Adani, is in advanced talks to acquire privately-held SB Energy Holdings Ltd., according to people familiar with the matter.

A deal could value SB Energy, owned by SoftBank Group Corp. and Bharti Enterprises Ltd., at more than $650 million, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified as the information is private. Adani Green is exploring a buyout of the renewable energy company through an all-stock deal, another person said.

Shares in Adani Green climbed as much as 5% on Monday, touching their highest level in more than a month. They have risen nearly 400% in the past year, giving the company a market value of about $24 billion.

The advanced talks come after negotiations with Canada Pension Plan Investment Board to buy SB Energy from SoftBank broke down, one of the people said.

An announcement could come in coming weeks, the people said. Discussions could still be delayed or fall apart, they added. A representative for SoftBank declined to comment, while representatives for Adani Green and Bharti Enterprises didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson for CPPIB said they continue to look for opportunities for new investments in India, including in the renewables sector.

A deal could help Adani Green to reach its planned generation capacity of 25 gigawatts by 2025. The company’s existing renewable energy portfolio has 15.4 gigawatts from across 11 states in India, according to its website.

SB Energy has 4,855 megawatts of renewable capacity in India, including operational capacity of 1,400 megawatts, as of March 2021, according to a report from Care Energy.

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.