Reliance New Energy Solar Ltd (RNESL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), has acquired 1.84 crore shares of Sterling and Wilson Renewable Energy Ltd (SWREL) through off-market purchases of Rs 690 crore.

The transaction will result in RNESL’s stake rising to 25.16 per cent of SWREL. In October last year, Reliance had entered into definitive agreements with Shapoorji Pallonji, Khurshed Daruvala, and Sterling & Wilson Solar Ltd (SWSL) to acquire 40 per cent stake post-money in SWSL through a series of transactions. In December 2O21, SWSL was re-named as SWREL.

This investment in SWREL is part of the massive plans that Reliance has in clean energy where it will take on Gautam Adani. RIL is planning to invest over Rs 75,000 crore in renewable energy over the next three years.

Following the strategic investment in SWREL, RNESL is now classified as a promoter. The RIL subsidiary will have two nominees on the SWREL board.

Shareholding data of SWREL available from the stock exchanges showed that for the quarter ended December 31, 2021, RNESL held 15.46 per cent while Kainaz Daruvala had a stake of 6.85 per cent and Shapoorji Pallonji and Company Pvt Ltd 42.76 per cent.

On Thursday, SWREL disclosed in a regulatory filing that the holding of Shapoorji Pallonji and Company Pvt Ltd has come down to 33.96 per cent due to the off market transaction with Reliance.

The multi-stage transaction saw SWREL issuing 2.93 crore preferential shares at a price of Rs 375 per share. RNESL will also come out with an open offer to acquire around 26 per cent of SWSL’s equity at the price of Rs 375 per share.

Shares of SWREL on Friday closed sideways at Rs 377.50 while the RIL scrip rose by almost a per cent to end at Rs 2,435.95.

As per the share purchase agreement between the promoters of SWREL and Reliance, the former will also sell additional shares to ensure that RNESL will hold 40 per cent in the company.

For the Shapoorji Pallonji group, it was the second major transaction after the Rs 4,400 crore deal for Eureka Forbes struck with Advent International in September 2021.

In December, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) had approved RNESL’s acquisition of the shareholding in SWREL which is engaged in solar engineering, procurement and construction solutions, and operation and maintenance services. Based on Friday’s close, SWREL had a market cap of around Rs 6,100 crore.