It has initiated due diligence after being shortlisted along with Aditya Birla Group, KKR and National Investment and Infrastructure Fund, they said. Final bids are expected at March-end, likely valuing the company at $1.8-2 billion, up from the $1.55 billion that Shell had paid.
Second Greenfield Platform
Actis was included after Singaporean utility Sembcorp, another contender, took time to make an offer, said one of the people mentioned above.
Sprng Energy, the second greenfield platform that Actis established in India, has a portfolio of under-construction and operational renewable power projects totalling 5 GW capacity. The first, Ostro Energy, was sold to Renew Power along with its 1 GW assets for an $1.5 enterprise value in 2018, the largest such transaction in the sector at the time.
General Atlantic-owned Actis LLP currently has a sizeable renewable energy portfolio in India with three independent companies. They’re led by BluPine Energy, an independent power producer. It was reported that the fund has been evaluating strategic options, including a full or partial exit, after deploying $800 million to establish the platform in 2021. Last year, Actis fully acquired Stride Climate Investments, a solar generation asset portfolio in India, from Macquarie Asset Management.
Around the same time in 2025, the fund completed raising a $1.7 billion Actis Long Life Infrastructure Fund–its second such initiative–to back brownfield infrastructure assets across growth markets in Asia, Latin America, Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The strategy focuses on operational enhancements rather than heavy capital expenditure, enabling investors to benefit from predictable, long-term income with moderate leverage.
Actis had initiated discussions with Shell late last year when it became clear that the energy major would be looking to review and exit non-core assets globally as part of a larger shakeup. Shell eventually chose to appoint Barclays and run a formal bidding exercise to maximise value.Until last March, Actis had deployed more than $7.1 billion in Asia since its inception across different investment strategies and has built or operated more than 8GW of installed capacity in the region, including more than 5.5GW of renewables, according to the fund.
Unusual Deal
Industry officials said it’s unlikely the company will get sold at a significant premium since greenfield expansion has been poor since the Shell takeover. According to one estimate, only 200 MW of capacity has come onstream between 2022 and 2025.
“Shell confirms we are reviewing strategic options to unlock long-term value for Sprng,” its spokesperson told ET. “It’s too early to comment on an outcome of the review.”
Actis declined to comment.
“Funds do not consider this a buyback in the traditional sense. Firstly, the funds are different and in India if you want to ramp up fast, buy is a better option than build,” said a senior fund manager at an infrastructure fund. “Secondly, having birthed and grown that company, they will have the best information around the asset, what is its true potential and bid accordingly. They have always been a disciplined and conservative investor.”
ET has been reporting on the sale process since December. It had reported that Shell’s attempts at a partial sale of Sprng Energy’s assets last April to Edelweiss-backed Sekura Energy and ONGC failed due to a valuation mismatch.
Pivot Away
Shell’s diversified business interests in India include selling lubricants and running an LNG terminal at Gujarat’s Hazira port besides operating fuel retail outlets and electric vehicle charging stations.
Since 2023, Shell has spent $8 billion on renewables as part of a stated three-year target of between $10 billion and $15 billion of investment in the segment. But under chief executive Wael Sawan, the UK oil major has been pulling back from renewable power generation and has already said it will not build any new offshore wind farms after many of these projects failed to deliver returns to shareholders.
Other than exiting Sprng Energy, it has retreated from major investments in big power generation projects to focus on potentially more lucrative activities such as power trading or oil exploration and has publicly stated its interest to enter Venezuela if the Trump administration allows this. The company has already cut investment and written down its US wind farms by almost $1billion starting 2025. Shell also walked away from two major floating offshore wind projects off the north-east coast of Scotland in a move that surprised decarbonisation champions. In India, Shell divested its 49% stake in Cleantech Solar to Singapore’s Keppel Ltd for $200 million.