Fourth Partner Energy raises $125M from Norfund and The Rise Fund

Hyderabad-based Fourth Partner Energy on Wednesday announced that it has raised $125 million in equity funding from Norfund - the Norwegian Investment Fund - and existing shareholder The Rise Fund, TPG’s global impact investing platform.

This $100 million marks Norfund’s maiden investment into India’s leading solar energy company, while The Rise Fund is investing an additional $25 million into Fourth Partner Energy, following its $70 million investment in July 2018.

The company is now strengthening its onsite and offsite solar presence in the subcontinent, as well as key markets across South and Southeast Asia. The company said it is targeting 3 GW of installed solar capacity by 2025, and expansion of capabilities across energy storage, EV charging infrastructure.

Vivek Subramanian, Co-founder and  Executive Director at Fourth Partner Energy said,

“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.”

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Anders Blom, Vice President at Norfund explained the rationale behind investing in the Indian clean energy space adding,

“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 prioritise profitability while simultaneously addressing climate change,  poverty alleviation and employment generation. Fourth Partner Energy is enabling decarbonisation of the C&I sector in one of the most pivotal global markets.”

In April 2021, Fourth Partner Energy secured a $33 million funding from the CDC Group, prior to which in 2020, the company announced a $15 million round of funding from Swiss climate action fund ResponsAbility and a $16 million investment from a consortium of European lenders, led by Symbiotics.

To date, Fourth Partner Energy manages a portfolio of 550 MW across its distributed and open access solar portfolios. The company has commenced operations across Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and  Vietnam. In Indonesia, 4PEL has tied up with integrated energy major Indika Energy to offer solar solutions to corporates there.  

“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,” said Ankur Thadani, Business Unit  Partner at The Rise Fund.

Investec Capital Services India, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co, and Dua & Associates were advisors to Fourth Partner Energy and TPG for this transaction, while Avendus Capital and Cyril  Amarchand Mangaldas advised Norfund for the same.