San Francisco Frontiers - KKR secures Indian regulator approval for Gentari Renewables investment

New Delhi Global investment major KKR has received the competition watchdog CCI's approval to acquire a stake in Gentari Renewables India, a clean energy platform of Malaysia's energy giant PETRONAS. KKR is making the investment through its affiliate Sapphire US HoldCo (USA), LLC, which will subscribe to certain securities of Gentari Renewables India Pte Ltd, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) said on Tuesday. Gentari Renewables India Pte Ltd is engaged in the provision of power generation through renewable energy sources and battery energy storage solutions in India. It is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Petroliam Nasional Berhad (PETRONAS) and belongs to the Malaysian multinational oil and gas company PETRONAS group. The approval follows the proposed investment announced in October, under which KKR is set to acquire a stake in the Indian renewable energy business backed by Malaysian state-owned energy major PETRONAS for around Rs 6,000 crore. KKR already has investments across India's clean energy and power infrastructure space, including Hero Future Energies, Serentica Renewables, and IndiGrid, which invests in power transmission and renewable energy infrastructure.

Under the competition law framework, transactions crossing prescribed asset or turnover thresholds require CCI approval to ensure fair competition and prevent anti-competitive business practices.

F.Young--SFF