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Kumar Mangalam Birla-led Aditya Birla Group is likely to have emerged as the front-runner to acquire Shell Plc’s Indian renewable energy platform Sprng Energy after the submission of binding bids, multiple industry sources in the know told Moneycontrol.
Aditya Birla Renewables is the clean energy platform of the Birla group, housed under listed parent Grasim Industries. It is targeting a capacity of 10 GW plus in the coming years.
US private equity firm KKR, Actis and a consortium of NIIF & Temasek had also expressed interest earlier in the proposed buyout of Sprng Energy.
“The deal has reached the final leg, and the Birla Group has edged ahead of KKR and is now seen as the lead contender to bag the asset. Discussions are ongoing” said one of the persons above.
Three other persons confirmed the above. One of them warned that no final decision has been made as yet, and talks could still fall apart and other suitors may make a comeback if required.
This person added that the proposed valuation of Sprng Energy could be more than $1.7 billion. Investment bank Barclays is acting as the sell-side advisor for Shell Plc, a fifth person added.
All five persons above spoke to Moneycontrol on the condition of anonymity.
When contacted via an email query, a company spokesperson said, "Shell confirms it is in initial discussions with potential partners interested in our Sprng business. It is too early to comment on an outcome of these discussions.”
An email query to the Aditya Birla Group, KKR and Barclays remained unanswered at the time of publishing this article.
A closer look at the target
Back in 2022, Shell acquired Sprng from Actis for $1.55 billion. This is the second attempt at a transaction by the global energy major after an earlier attempt at a part stake sale across multiple assets in 2023, did not fructify into an eventual transaction. The strategic review comes as the firm’s top brass pivots from low-carbon projects to focus on liquified natural gas trading and upstream.
Pune-based Sprng Energy is present in solar energy, wind energy, hybrid projects and RTC (round-the-clock) solutions across Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. According to the firm, it has a contracted ( total) capacity of 5026.53 MWp and an operational capacity of 2300.48 MWp.
The Birla Group’s clean energy push
As of December 2025, Aditya Birla Renewables had a diversified pan-India renewable energy portfolio of around 4.3 GW across 10 states. The portfolio delivers solar, hybrid, floating solar and round-the-clock renewable power. The firm plans to focus on both commercial and industrial ( C&I) and utility-scale projects, according to company officials.
In December 2025, BlackRock arm Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) invested ₹3,000 crore in Aditya Birla Renewables Limited, valuing the latter at ₹14,600 crore ( enterprise value). The deal was among the largest primary commitments by a private equity player in a renewable platform in India.
Speaking post the GIP fund infusion, Kumar Mangalam Birla, chairman, Aditya Birla Group, had said, “India stands at the cusp of an energy transformation, arguably one of the largest anywhere in the world. The scale of the renewables opportunity in India is extraordinary, driven both by the urgent imperative of decarbonisation and the sheer arithmetic of demand. This business sits squarely at the intersection of national energy security and climate leadership, two defining priorities for the coming decades.”
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Aditya Birla Renewables is the clean energy platform of the Birla group, housed under listed parent Grasim Industries. It is targeting a capacity of 10 GW plus in the coming years.
US private equity firm KKR, Actis and a consortium of NIIF & Temasek had also expressed interest earlier in the proposed buyout of Sprng Energy.
“The deal has reached the final leg, and the Birla Group has edged ahead of KKR and is now seen as the lead contender to bag the asset. Discussions are ongoing” said one of the persons above.
Three other persons confirmed the above. One of them warned that no final decision has been made as yet, and talks could still fall apart and other suitors may make a comeback if required.
This person added that the proposed valuation of Sprng Energy could be more than $1.7 billion. Investment bank Barclays is acting as the sell-side advisor for Shell Plc, a fifth person added.
All five persons above spoke to Moneycontrol on the condition of anonymity.
When contacted via an email query, a company spokesperson said, "Shell confirms it is in initial discussions with potential partners interested in our Sprng business. It is too early to comment on an outcome of these discussions.”
An email query to the Aditya Birla Group, KKR and Barclays remained unanswered at the time of publishing this article.
A closer look at the target
Back in 2022, Shell acquired Sprng from Actis for $1.55 billion. This is the second attempt at a transaction by the global energy major after an earlier attempt at a part stake sale across multiple assets in 2023, did not fructify into an eventual transaction. The strategic review comes as the firm’s top brass pivots from low-carbon projects to focus on liquified natural gas trading and upstream.
Pune-based Sprng Energy is present in solar energy, wind energy, hybrid projects and RTC (round-the-clock) solutions across Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. According to the firm, it has a contracted ( total) capacity of 5026.53 MWp and an operational capacity of 2300.48 MWp.
The Birla Group’s clean energy push
As of December 2025, Aditya Birla Renewables had a diversified pan-India renewable energy portfolio of around 4.3 GW across 10 states. The portfolio delivers solar, hybrid, floating solar and round-the-clock renewable power. The firm plans to focus on both commercial and industrial ( C&I) and utility-scale projects, according to company officials.
In December 2025, BlackRock arm Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) invested ₹3,000 crore in Aditya Birla Renewables Limited, valuing the latter at ₹14,600 crore ( enterprise value). The deal was among the largest primary commitments by a private equity player in a renewable platform in India.
Speaking post the GIP fund infusion, Kumar Mangalam Birla, chairman, Aditya Birla Group, had said, “India stands at the cusp of an energy transformation, arguably one of the largest anywhere in the world. The scale of the renewables opportunity in India is extraordinary, driven both by the urgent imperative of decarbonisation and the sheer arithmetic of demand. This business sits squarely at the intersection of national energy security and climate leadership, two defining priorities for the coming decades.”
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