Norfund and TPG Rise Fund invest into Fourth Partner Energy

Investec advised Fourth Partner Energy on its UD 125 mn fundraise from Norfund and TPG Rise fund

Investec India acted as the sole Financial Advisor to Fourth Partner Energy, India’s leading distributed energy platform and its shareholders on its $125 Mn investment from Norfund and TPG Rise Fund.

As part of the transaction, Norfund would invest $100 Mn and existing shareholder The Rise Fund would invest an additional $25 Mn. The transaction also provides an exit to certain early-stage investors such as Infuse Ventures and ESOP holders.

Investec's role:

Investec’s deep understanding of the sector and past experience with the company, we attractively positioned the asset to prospective investors and also pre-empted potential diligence bottlenecks to ensure a smooth process.
Investec leveraged our network of cross border teams to reach out to 80+ investors across Europe, Asia and North America. The transaction drew participation from a diverse investor pool across global and domestic PE Funds, pension funds, SWFs and Oil & Gas majors.
Investec balanced interests of multiple stakeholders to create a foundation for a long-term partnership. We negotiated the base valuation and established a mechanism for valuation up-tick, devised an attractive Management Incentive Plan for the founders/ employees and secured a lucrative exit for early stage investors.

About Fourth Partner Energy:

Fourth Partner Energy is among the Top 3 players in the distributed C&I energy space in India and manages a portfolio of 550 MW across its distributed and open access solar projects. The company has leveraged its projection execution capabilities to commence operations across Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Vietnam. In Indonesia, 4PEL has partnered with integrated energy major Indika Energy to offer RE + storage electrification solutions to corporates in the region and play a pivotal role in island electrification projects. Fourth Partner would deploy the proceeds towards business expansion across Indian and International markets and accelerate the company growth in clean energy solutions including EV charging infrastructure and energy storage solutions.

The transaction marks Norfund’s first equity investment in the country and is a testimony to Investec’s cross-border capabilities. Investec India previously advised the company on their $75 Mn fundraise from the Rise Fund in 2018 and is a repeat client for us.

Client feedback:

“Norfund is an established, long-term, institutional investor with a strong global clean energy portfolio, committed to driving impact. We are keen on leveraging this round of funding and their expertise to further cement our leadership position. We also believe the C&I solar market in India is ripe for consolidation and are actively pursuing acquisition opportunities on this front. Our transformational relationship with TPG’s RISE Fund has enabled us to partner with high quality, ESG-centric financiers like Norfund and we continue to seek to work with the best global institutions going ahead. We are grateful to team TPG for this reaffirmation and welcome Norfund into the Fourth Partner Energy family.”
– Vivek Subramanian, Co-Founder & Executive Director at Fourth Partner Energy

“As the global community continues to tackle climate change, Fourth Partner is leading India’s transition to renewable energy. The Rise Fund’s mission is to back businesses that help solve global issues like climate change while delivering attractive returns on investment. Since our initial investment, Fourth Partner has built a world-class team that consistently delivers strong fundamentals while focusing on high quality customers and carbon aversion. We are excited to be investing additional capital into this platform and continuing to build an industry leading distributed solar energy business in India. Norfund is a great addition to this team, as they share our commitment to strong corporate governance, impact and ESG.
- Ankur Thadani, Partner at The Rise Fund

“Across Asia, Africa and Central America, Norfund has invested in and with companies like Globeleq, Scatec, Berkeley Energy Commercial and Industrial Solutions, d.Light and Yoma Micropower – which prioritize profitability while simultaneously addressing climate change, poverty alleviation and employment generation. Fourth Partner Energy is enabling decarbonization of the C&I sector in one of the most pivotal global markets. We are thrilled to partner with a business that is not just the industry leader but has adhered to high standards of business integrity, ESG and health & safety practices. We look forward to working with their core team and Rise Fund in helping achieve Fourth Partner’s 3GW target by 2025.”
– Anders Blom, Vice President (Norfund)