Fortum has decided to divest 500 MW of solar projects in India and has signed an agreement with the global infrastructure investment firmActisfor the same. As part of the agreement, Actis will receive ownership of the 250MW Pavagada II and the 250MW Rajasthan solar power plants. The total consideration from the divestment is expected to be approximately EUR 280 millionon a debt and cash-free basis. The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of the first half of 2022.
Further, the two companies plan to have similar investment deals for other solar power projects in India. Fortum has developed and constructed 680 MW of solar power in India since 2013. In line with the build-operate-transfer business model, the company has divested a majority of this capacity, thereby limiting its equity exposure and also enable future investments.
Present in more than 40 countries, Fortum is a European energy company that providesits customers with electricity, gas, heating and cooling as well as smart solutions to improve resource efficiency. Further, the company was also an early mover in the electric vehicle charging space andcommercialised its electric transportation programme in 2011 under the Charge & Drive brand. Since then, its operations have spread across many markets. Fortum provides its cloud-based charger management system as a service to various stakeholders in the EV charging space.