Aditya Birla Group company will acquire Shell-owned Sprng for USD 1.8 bn

Leap into the top tier: Mumbai-based Grasim Industries, a subsidiary of Aditya Birla Group, is set to take full control of Sprng Energy from British oil giant Shell for USD 1.8 bn — one of the largest acquisitions in the renewables sector this year, according to an exchange filing.

What Grasim gets: Grasim through its renewable unit will acquire 100% equity of Solenergi Power, the Mauritius-based holding company of Sprng Energy. The transaction is expected to be finalized by the end of the year, subject to regulatory approvals.

Who are they? Gramsim Industries’ renewable unit develops and operates utility-scale solar and wind energy projects. The acquisition will add 5 GW of contracted renewable capacity to its portfolio, taking its combined capacity to 9.3 GW, behind only Adani Green Energy and ReNew Energy.

Why it matters: The transaction puts Grasim Industries on course to scale to over 20 GW in the coming years. For Shell, the transaction is a part of the broader process to streamline its global power portfolio.

Akasa Air seeks fresh capital

Mumbai-based low-cost carrier Akasa Air is seeking to raise INR 10.5 bn (USD 110 mn) in fresh funding as the Iran war battered the company’s balance sheet, Bloomberg reports, citing people familiar with the matter.

Capital plan: The proposed raise includes about INR 8 bn (USD 84 mn) in equity and at least INR 2.5 bn (USD 26 mn) in debt. Akasa has reportedly approached existing shareholders and two new investors for the equity portion, and turned to state-run banks for the debt portion under an Indian government credit line for airlines affected by the Iran-US conflict.

Why now? Akasa raised funds in June last year, but market conditions changed after the conflict pushed up jet fuel prices and disrupted flight operations.