Reliance New Energy Solar Limited (RNESL), a subsidiary of India-based holding company Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), has acquired a complete stake in solar cell and panel manufacturer REC Solar Holdings (REC Group).
The company acquired REC Group from China National Bluestar for $771m.
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The acquisition is in line with RIL’s ‘new energy vision’ to become a global scale photovoltaic (PV) manufacturing competitor.
Based in Norway, REC Group has operational headquarters in Singapore and regional hubs in North America, Europe, Australia and Asia-Pacific.
The company operates two manufacturing facilities in Norway that produce solar-grade polysilicon, while its Singapore facility manufactures PV cells and modules.
REC incorporates heterojunction (HJT) technology in its Alpha and Alpha Pure range of solar modules to enhance the performance of the product.
RIL plans to use this technology in its fully integrated, metallic silicon PV panel manufacturing gigafactory at the Dhirubhai Ambani Green Energy Giga Complex, located in the Indian state of Gujarat.
Once the deal is completed, the company will take on REC’s global workforce of more than 1,300 employees.
RIL chairman Mukesh Ambani said: “It is in line with our strategy of investing in new and advanced technologies and operating capabilities aimed at achieving Reliance’s goal of enabling 100GW of clean and green energy before the end of this decade.
“Together with our other recent investments, Reliance is now ready to set up a global scale integrated Photovoltaic Giga factory and make India a manufacturing hub for lowest cost and highest efficiency solar panels.
“We will continue to invest, build and collaborate with global players to achieve the highest reliability, efficiency and economies to deliver high quality, reliable power at affordable prices to our customers both in India and markets worldwide.”
RNESL is also reportedly planning to acquire a 40% stake in Sterling & Wilson Solar through primary investment, secondary purchase and open offers for around Rs28.5bn ($378m).
