February 11, 2008 (Moneycontrol.com) – The D. E. Shaw group, a global investment and technology development firm, has made an equity investment of $15 million in Soham Renewable Energy India Private Limited to fund its expansion plan over the next five years. Polymath Advisors of Mumbai was the exclusive advisor for the transaction. Incorporated in 2000, Soham is focused on generating power from all the segments of the renewable power sector, including hydro, solar, and wind power. The Company recently commissioned a 22 MW hydro project in the state of Karnataka to supply exclusive power to a large multinational corporation. Soham has also obtained carbon credits under the Certified Emission Reduction (CER) program for this project and has sold the credits to one of the largest power utilities in Japan.
The capital provided by the D. E. Shaw group will fund Soham’s plans to become one of the frontrunners in the Indian renewable energy space with projects in various regions of India.
Mr. K. Sadananda Shetty, Founder and Chairman of Soham, said, “I am very excited about this long-term partnership with the D. E. Shaw group, a well-established financial partner in India. We share a common vision of expanding Soham Renewable Energy into a world class organization that can make a positive contribution to India’s power supply, and we intend to do so in an eco- and people-friendly manner.”
“Increased economic activities in India have led to higher demand for energy resources,” said Mr. Sanjith Shetty, Co-Founder and Vice Chairman of Soham Renewable Energy. “Along with China, India is driving the energy market of not only Asia, but the world as a whole. As demand for energy continues to outstrip production at home, India has emerged as a major buyer of energy through both trade and investments in countries with rich fossil fuel sources around the world. We intend to grow Soham by adding several new projects and increasing our production capacity several fold in the coming years.”
Mr. Anil Chawla, Chief Executive Officer of D. E. Shaw India Advisory Services Private Limited, said, “The D. E. Shaw group has made significant investments in renewable energy globally. This is just the beginning of our relationship with Soham, and together we would like to build a world class renewable energy company in India.”
Mr. Vineet Sachdeva, a Director at the D. E. Shaw group, added, “We are excited to be working with Sanjith and his team and are proud to be part of their future growth plans. We think that Soham Renewable Energy will be a valuable contributor to the expansion of power in India.”
Mr. Shom Jagtiani, Executive Director of Polymath Advisors, said, “We were extremely excited to have been a part of this transaction. With the success of this transaction, private equity investors will begin focusing on renewable energy opportunities as an integral and important segment within India’s booming infrastructure story.”
Asia Cleantech 