Reliance Signs $736mn Green Loan Pact With 5 Banks To Fund $771mn Acquisition Of Solar Panel Manufacturer REC Group

Reliance Industries has raised $736 million equivalent in green loan agreement with five banks to fund its recent acquisition of Norwegian solar panel manufacturer REC Solar Holdings.

ANZ, Credit Agricole, DBS Bank, HSBC and MUFG were the lenders on the borrowing.

The borrowing is split into a $250 million six-year term loan, a $150 million working capital facility and a $336 million five-year bank guarantee facility.

The green loan is a rare instance of Mukesh Ambani-led conglomerate opting for a long-term loan.

On Oct 10, Reliance New Energy Solar Ltd (RNESL), a wholly owned subsidiary of energy-to-telecom behemoth Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), announced that it has acquired 100% shareholding of REC Solar Holdings AS (REC Group) from China National Bluestar (Group) Co Ltd., for an Enterprise Value of USD 771 million.

Headquartered in Norway, REC Group is a leading solar energy company that manufactures solar cells and panels for solar power. The 25-year-old company has three manufacturing facilities – two in Norway for making solar grade polysilicon and one in Singapore making PV cells and modules.

With more than 1300 employee globally, REC’s Alpha and Alpha Pure range of solar modules are recognized as among industry leaders in efficiency, reliability and long guaranteed life.

Reliance plans to leverage RCE's technology in their fully integrated, metallic Silicon to photovoltaic panel manufacturing giga factory at Dhirubhai Ambani Green Energy Giga Complex located at Jamnagar. Reliance will initially start with 4 GW per annum capacity and eventually growing to 10 GW per annum.

In October, Reliance also announced its acquisition of 40 per cent stake in Sterling and Wilson Solar, a Shapoorji Pallonji group.

Also Read: Understanding Ambani’s Solar Ambitions