Adia is backing solar outfit Emmvee’s USD 327 mn IPO

Speaking of Adia… The UAE investor was among several anchoring Bengaluru-based solar manufacturer Emmvee Photovoltaic Power’s INR 29 bn (USD 327 mn) IPO, the subscription period for which opened on Tuesday, according to a regulatory filing (pdf). The sovereign wealth fund snapped up a 5.75% stake for INR 750 mn (USD 31.1 mn).

Adia as marquee investor: Emmvee raised some USD 155 mn from 55 anchor investors, including Adia, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, BNP Paribas Funds, Citigroup, and Nomura Singapore. Domestic mutual funds took nearly half of the position. Analysts like Emmvee’s visibility in India’s solar manufacturing cycle, backed by its 5.4 GW order book, and forecast strong profitability tailwinds as debt is pared down.

What’s on the table? The IPO includes new shares with INR 214.3 bn (USD 2.4 bn) while existing investors are selling shares worth a combined INR 75.6 bn (USD 860 mn). Up to 75% of the offer was earmarked for qualified institutional buyers, not more than 10% for retail investors and up to 15% for non-institutional investors.

ADVISORS- Lead managers and bookrunners for the offering are JM Financial, IIFL CapitalServices,Jefferies India, and Kotak Mahindra Capital. Trilegal is providing counsel to the issuer on matters of Indian law. MSKC & Associates are auditors for Emmvee. KFin Technologies is registrar. Bankers to the Emmvee are Axis Bank and HDFC Bank.

Nearly three-quarters of the proceeds are going into the company’s coffers. Proceeds will largely pay off debt and support expansion, including its new Bengaluru capacity. As of June this year, Emmvee operates 7.8 GW module and 2.9 GW cell capacity.

Adia’s India bet is no longer episodic, but strategic capital deployment at scale. It has moved well beyond passive foreign portfolio investments into concentrated ownership among category leaders.

India is effectively taking up Adia’s most important Emerging Markets allocations in Asia. The sovereign fund is coming in at late growth stage or pre-IPO rounds, then doubling down again at listing, as seen across Lenskart, LG’s India unit, and Groww, alongside multiple bank and manufacturing exposures. Here are some of the SWF’s recent India investments:

• Adia bid as an anchor in the USD 754 mn IPO of Billionbrains Garage Ventures, parent of the Indian stockbroking platform Groww, with allocated shares worth USD 15.9 mn in November.
• In January this year, Adia invested USD 750 mn in the debt of infrastructure firm GMR Group, marking a foothold in one of the world’s fastest-growing aviation markets.
• In April this year, Adia subsidiary Platinum Invictus bought a 5.1% stake worth some USD 310 mn in Mumbai-based IDFC First Bank.
• Adia participated in the USD 38.7 mn pre-IPO funding round for HDB Financial Services alongside other global institutions in June.
• It was one of the buyers of a 3.45% stake in RBL Bank recently sold by Mahindra & Mahindra, after Emirates NBD acquired a stake in the Indian lender.
• Purchased shares worth USD 11.5 mn in South Korean appliance major LG Electronics’ USD 1.3 bn IPO of its India unit just last month.
• The fund invested USD 12 mn in Indian EV maker Ather Energy’s pre-IPO funding round in April 2025.