Ontario Teachers' targets 49% of Indian solar group Mahindra Susten - report

Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board is seeking to buy a 49% stake in solar installer Mahindra Susten, a unit of Indian automotive group Mahindra & Mahindra (NSE:M&M), the Economic Times reports.

The Canadian pension fund is in advanced negotiations regarding the move for which they have already signed an exclusivity agreement, unnamed sources have told the newspaper. According to them, Ontario Teachers’ is willing to pay some INR 23 billion (USD 294.6m/EUR 280m) for the stake, which values the target at INR 46 billion, including debt.

Mumbai-based Mahindra Susten, formerly known as Mahindra EPC Services Pvt Ltd, focuses on the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) and operation and maintenance (O&M) of solar plants and also provides data management and software services for third-party developers. The report says that the firm’s EPC portfolio amounts to 4.2 GW, either executed or under construction.

In the fiscal year ended March 2021, Mahindra Susten generated a net profit of INR 61.4 million, which fell from INR 420 million a year back due to project cancellations and delays caused by the COVID pandemic.

Earlier this year, local media reported that Canada’s Brookfield Asset Management was keen on buying a “significant” stake in the Indian solar firm.

(INR 10 = USD 0.128/EUR 0.122)

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