Reliance New Energy Solar (RNESL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) said on October 10 that it has acquired 100% shareholding of REC Solar Holdings AS (REC Group) from China National Bluestar (Group) Co Ltd.
The deal is valued at $771 million. 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.
REC Solar will be key part of Reliance's new energy vision to become a global scale PV manufacturing player with industry leading heterojunction (HJT) cell technology. This also takes the Indian conglomerate one step closer to its goal of generating or enabling generation of 100GW of solar energy by 2030, in line with India's goal to produce 450GW of renewable energy by the same year.
100 GW Clean and Green Energy Before the End of this Decade
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 Honorable 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 decentralized manner in rural and urban areas.," he further added.
REC Group, an International Pioneering Solar Energy Company
REC is headquartered in Norway and has its operational headquarters in Singapore and regional hubs in North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia-Pacific. REC Group is an international pioneering solar energy company leading the industry through its technological innovations and superior, high efficiency and long-life solar cells and panels for clean and affordable solar power.
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 company said in a statement.
China National Bluestar (Group) Co Ltd.
China National Bluestar (Group) Co, Ltd is a world-leading specialty chemicals and materials company. It has 58 plants, 45 R&D institutes, 4 overseas subsidiaries, and 3 listed companies, and its products can be found in more than 200 countries and regions.
Bluestar has become one of the most prominent chemical companies in China. It is committed to developing sustainable businesses through continuous technological innovation and by meeting customer needs with safer and environmental-friendly products and services
Reliance's Commitment to 'Care for the Planet' and 'Care for the People'
Ambani said, "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 people on the planet, which is central to Reliance's business philosophy."
