Fourth Partner Raises $125 Million Equity Funding

Hyderabad based Fourth Partner Energy has raised a fresh funding of $125 million for its expansion plans. The big new investor this time is Norwegian investment fund Norfund, that has invested $100 million. Existing investor the RISE fund has invested a further $25 million. Norfund was last in the news for its backing of Italy’s ENEL for its India plans .

Fourth Partner Energy will use the funds to strengthen its onsite and offsite solar presence in India and key markets across South and Southeast Asia, says the firm. The company has targeted 3 GW of installed solar capacity by 2025, besides  and expanding capabilities across energy storage and electric vehicle charging infrastructure. The big funding round should help the firm go full throttle on its expansion plans.

The firm currently has a 550 MW solar portfolio. Operations commenced in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Vietnam recently, while in Indonesia, it has tied up with integrated energy major Indika Energy to offer solar solutions to corporates there.

Besides RISE fund, which had invested $70 million in 2018, Fourth Partner has been ding successful fund raises regularly, the last one being a Rs 250 crore raise from the UK’s CDC.

The latest funding round for Fourth Partner is a welcome addition to  market that has been consolidating towards the larger players. Fourth Partners, with its diversified portfolio and solutions for off grid and open access markets, is counting on international opportunities, besides an improving policy environment in India to vindicate the trust of its investors.

While valuations have not been disclosed by the firm, financial investors we spoke to indicate that valuations for this latest round would be north of $650 million for a round like this, and considering Fourth Partner’s previous fund raises.