Canadian pension fund OMERS has acquired a 19.4% stake in an Indian solar-energy company for US$219m (鈧�184m) from the World Bank鈥檚 International Finance Corporation (IFC) and its infrastructure fund.
Azure Power, founded in 2008 and listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2016, owns a portfolio of solar assets across India providing 2GW of operational capacity and a further 5GW of capacity under construction or awarded.
The acquisition is the second direct infrastructure deal in India by OMERS, following an investment in the IndInfravit toll-road platform in 2019.
鈥淚n support of our goal of prudently diversifying OMERS investments across global markets, we will continue to explore additional promising opportunities in India and throughout Asia-Pacific,鈥� said Prateek Maheshwari, managing director for Asia at OMERS Infrastructure.
Annesley Wallace, executive vice president and global head of OMERS Infrastructure, said: 鈥淭his agreement to invest in Azure Power demonstrates OMERS鈥檚 strong global interest in high-quality renewable power and energy transition assets, as well as our interest in India as an investment destination and Asia-Pacific more broadly.
鈥淭his transaction directly supports our mission of building a strong portfolio of well-run assets that will help pay pensions to our members over the long term.鈥�
