Aditya Birla Renewables Ltd. is set to acquire 100% of Solenergi Power Pvt., giving it control of a 5-gigawatt portfolio in India. Sprng Energy - owned by Solenergi - runs Shell's clean-power holdings in India.
To fund the purchase, a unit of the Aditya Birla conglomerate has lined up as much as 240 billion rupees (about $2.5 billion) in bank commitments, compared with the 140 billion rupees it is seeking to borrow. People familiar with the talks said actual disbursements are expected to fall below those ceilings, given the loan structure and needs.
Axis Bank and State Bank of India each pledged as much as 70 billion rupees; meanwhile, Union Bank of India and Punjab National Bank extended offers for credit lines of about 50 billion rupees each. Talks are also underway with HDFC Bank Ltd. and Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd., potentially boosting the available lending room. Representatives for Aditya Birla Group and the banks did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Pricing on the club loan is in the 7.6% to 7.7% range, with maturities between 12 and 20 years. The borrowing will sit across several company-backed special purpose vehicles.
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Local lenders are leaning into big-ticket deals as they compete with global players in a $40 billion-plus mergers and acquisitions market. The Reserve Bank of India opened the door on July 1 for domestic banks to finance corporate takeovers, a change aimed at supporting growth.
Credit data helps explain the momentum: Between January and Aug. 15, lending by Indian banks rose by 18.3%, bringing outstanding credit to 220 trillion rupees, outpacing the 14.7% rise in deposits. On top of that, a record $127 billion raised from the Indian diaspora through an aggressive lender push is expected to add liquidity and put downward pressure on borrowing costs.
If that liquidity does nudge rates lower, borrowing could get a bit cheaper across the economy. Pair that with banks' growing appetite to fund acquisitions, and you have a backdrop where capital is easier to come by for large projects - the kind that can ripple into jobs, infrastructure, and the prices you pay to finance big life moves.
