AgenciesCapitalising on the growing investor frenzy, Goldman Sachs backed ReNew Power is poised to become the first renewable company from India to reverse merge with a US-listed blank cheque financier also known as special purpose acquisition companies (SPAC), RMG Acquisition Corp II at $4.4 billion post-money valuations, excluding debt, said people aware of it.
Renew will be raising $1.2 billion of new money, which includes $855 billion private placement from a bunch of new investors including BlackRock Inc, BNP Paribas asset management, Sylebra Capital, Zimmer Capital, TT International and serial entrepreneur Chamath Palihapitiya.
RMG, sponsored by Riverside Management Group raised $345 million in its initial public offering including so-called greenshoe shares last December. Since pricing its first SPAC in February 2019, RMG Capital has raised over $1.1bn in three separate IPOs. Its CEO Robert Mancini also led Goldman Sach’s on-balance sheet power asset investment business in the past. From the money raised, 700 million dollars will be used as primary capital to pare down its $3.6 billion net debt and to pursue growth including its ambitious solar panel manufacturing plans.
The remaining $500 million will be used to partial exit to existing investors like Goldman Sachs, CPPIB, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), Global Environment Fund, among others who have been seeking a “liquidity event” for long.
ET was the 1st to report about Renew’s SPAC listing plans with RMG and Peridot in its edition dated February 1st. Read here: Renew Power eyes merger with clean energy SPACs for US listing
A formal announcement is due this week, even as early as Wednesday night.
Goldman Sachs, the largest shareholder of Renew with a 48% stake, has been looking to lower its holding and unlock value for some time after the company was forced to shelve its IPO plans in mid-2018 at a $4 billion valuation. Goldman had backed first-generation entrepreneur Sumant Sinha to create a green energy platform in 2011 with a $200 million commitment. Since then, several other high-profile investors have come on board. CPPIB and Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund Abu Dhabi Investment Authority each own 16%; Japan’s gas and utilities major JERA has an 8% shareholding while other small financial investors such as Global Environmental Fund control 3%. Sinha and his senior employees own the rest.
Goldman will remain the single largest shareholder with a 30 per cent stake post the SPAC deal. Existing investors will get diluted to 70% post the primary and secondary infusion.
The SPAC listing also puts an end to negotiations with Thailand’s PTT Energy that collapsed due to valuation differences. On the back of the PTT dialogue last year, Renew had revived its IPO plans, but in New York or London, ET had reported on October 19. It had already initiated a process to become an offshore like peers Greenko, as a precursor to a foreign listing. It is also closely awaiting the guidelines for a direct listing in the overseas market to finalise its strategy that was cleared by Parliament last year.
Renew, Goldman Sachs, ADIA, CPPIB declined to comment.
Mails to BNP, Blackrock, Zimmer, TT International and Chamath Palihapitiya did not immediately elicit a response.
Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley are working with Renew in its fundraising efforts while Bank of America is representing the SPACs.
Some 30 companies in the sustainability, environment, energy and frontier mobility sectors, several of them backed by venture and PE investors, announced mergers with SPACs in 2020, as per data from Nomura Greentech, a division of investment bank Nomura Securities involving investments of about $14.3 billion. About 30 more SPACs that raised $9 billion in capital were still looking for clean technology acquisition targets as of the end of the year, according to the firm.
Renew will be raising $1.2 billion of new money, which includes $855 billion private placement from a bunch of new investors including BlackRock Inc, BNP Paribas asset management, Sylebra Capital, Zimmer Capital, TT International and serial entrepreneur Chamath Palihapitiya.
RMG, sponsored by Riverside Management Group raised $345 million in its initial public offering including so-called greenshoe shares last December. Since pricing its first SPAC in February 2019, RMG Capital has raised over $1.1bn in three separate IPOs. Its CEO Robert Mancini also led Goldman Sach’s on-balance sheet power asset investment business in the past. From the money raised, 700 million dollars will be used as primary capital to pare down its $3.6 billion net debt and to pursue growth including its ambitious solar panel manufacturing plans.
The remaining $500 million will be used to partial exit to existing investors like Goldman Sachs, CPPIB, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), Global Environment Fund, among others who have been seeking a “liquidity event” for long.
ET was the 1st to report about Renew’s SPAC listing plans with RMG and Peridot in its edition dated February 1st. Read here: Renew Power eyes merger with clean energy SPACs for US listing
A formal announcement is due this week, even as early as Wednesday night.
Goldman Sachs, the largest shareholder of Renew with a 48% stake, has been looking to lower its holding and unlock value for some time after the company was forced to shelve its IPO plans in mid-2018 at a $4 billion valuation. Goldman had backed first-generation entrepreneur Sumant Sinha to create a green energy platform in 2011 with a $200 million commitment. Since then, several other high-profile investors have come on board. CPPIB and Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund Abu Dhabi Investment Authority each own 16%; Japan’s gas and utilities major JERA has an 8% shareholding while other small financial investors such as Global Environmental Fund control 3%. Sinha and his senior employees own the rest.
Goldman will remain the single largest shareholder with a 30 per cent stake post the SPAC deal. Existing investors will get diluted to 70% post the primary and secondary infusion.
The SPAC listing also puts an end to negotiations with Thailand’s PTT Energy that collapsed due to valuation differences. On the back of the PTT dialogue last year, Renew had revived its IPO plans, but in New York or London, ET had reported on October 19. It had already initiated a process to become an offshore like peers Greenko, as a precursor to a foreign listing. It is also closely awaiting the guidelines for a direct listing in the overseas market to finalise its strategy that was cleared by Parliament last year.
Renew, Goldman Sachs, ADIA, CPPIB declined to comment.
Mails to BNP, Blackrock, Zimmer, TT International and Chamath Palihapitiya did not immediately elicit a response.
Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley are working with Renew in its fundraising efforts while Bank of America is representing the SPACs.
Some 30 companies in the sustainability, environment, energy and frontier mobility sectors, several of them backed by venture and PE investors, announced mergers with SPACs in 2020, as per data from Nomura Greentech, a division of investment bank Nomura Securities involving investments of about $14.3 billion. About 30 more SPACs that raised $9 billion in capital were still looking for clean technology acquisition targets as of the end of the year, according to the firm.
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