Virescent Renewable Energy Trust raises Rs 2,150 cr; names Akshay Jaitly as independent director – EQ Mag Pro

KKR’s Virescent Renewable Energy Trust will primarily use the proceeds to refinance existing debt at the special purpose vehicle (SPV) level as well as fund

KKR-backed Virescent Renewable Energy Trust has raised funds to the tune of Rs 2,150 crore through various financing instruments.

Virescent Renewable Energy Trust (VRET) has raised Rs 1,000 crore in its debut issuance across 3, 5 and 7-year tranches, a company release said, adding that this transaction marks the first-ever issuance by a Renewable Energy InvIT in India.

The company will primarily use the proceeds to refinance existing debt at the special purpose vehicle (SPV) level as well as fund future acquisitions.

VRET has also tied up an additional Rs 1,000 crore of long-term financing from L&T Finance. This ensures complete debt tie-up for VRETs immediate near-term acquisition pipeline, the company said.

Further, VRET has availed a working capital facility of Rs 150 crore from Tata Capital to enhance its liquidity position and meet its credit rating requirements.

“This incredible achievement is an important milestone in VRET’s journey, demonstrating our debt fundraising capabilities at competitive pricing with different instruments and maturity profiles and reposing the faith of lenders in VRET,” Sanjay Grewal, CEO, Virescent Infrastructure said in the statement.

Grewal further added that “we look forward to working closely with our lenders as we continue to acquire high-quality assets for achieving our initial growth targets.”

VRET has expanded its Board and has appointed Akshay Jaitly as an independent director, a company statement said.

“We are extremely happy to induct Akshay Jaitly on our Board and we will benefit from his legal/regulatory knowledge and experience in the infrastructure and renewable sectors,” Grewal said.

The other Independent Directors include Pradeep Kumar Panja, CMD – Karnataka Bank and Member – Bank Board Bureau and Vinay Kumar Pabba, former CEO of Brookfield Renewables and Ex-COO of Greenko.

Jaitly is the President of 262 Advisors, based in Paris. He advises Indian, French and other international businesses with an interest in India on cross-border strategy and risk management. He is also involved with research initiatives on policy reform in the Indian power and infrastructure sectors.

Jaitly previously worked as a transactional lawyer for over 25 years, in the UK, Japan and India.

In 2000, he co-founded Trilegal and was the head of their energy and infrastructure practice. He remains a senior advisor to Trilegal and is a member of their Board.

Recently, in September 2021, VRET was set up as a private listed InvIT and raised around USD 62 million of equity from a group of foreign and domestic investors, led by Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCO).

Source : PTI