New Delhi, Oct. 22 -- Singapore's Keppel Ltd has bought energy major Shell Plc's 49% stake in pan-Asian solar developer Cleantech Solar in a deal valuing the equity at around $200 million, taking full control of the company. It is planning a sale of Cleantech for around $400 million next, said two people aware of the development. Both requested anonymity. Keppel already owns 51% stake in Cleantech. Keppel Corp. Ltd, Keppel Asia Infrastructure Fund LP (KAIF) and a co-investor of KAIF, through Cloud Alpha Pte Ltd, had acquired 51% equity in Cleantech Renewable Assets Pte. Ltd for $150 million in 2021. The balance 49% stake was held by Shell. Keppel Corp. was renamed Keppel Ltd early in 2024. Cleantech Renewable Assets is the holding company of Cleantech Solar. Cleantech Solar has a 1.2 giga watt (GW) portfolio of solar and wind assets in operations, construction and development stages in India, Singapore, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, of which 1GW is operational. Spokespersons for Shell and Cleantech Solar confirmed the sale. "Shell Singapore Pte Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Shell plc, has agreed to sell its 49% stake in Cleantech Renewable Assets Pte Ltd to an affiliate of Keppel Ltd. This decision is consistent with Shell's business strategy and enhanced focus on performance, discipline, and simplification," a Shell spokesperson said in an emailed response. "Keppel Ltd and its managed fund, Keppel Asia Infrastructure Fund, have agreed to acquire Shell Singapore Pte Ltd.'s 49% stake in Cleantech Renewable Assets Pte Ltd. This is an exciting new chapter for Cleantech Solar. The company is well-positioned for growth and success, with support from committed shareholders and partners, and more importantly, a strong and dedicated team," a Cleantech Solar spokesperson said on email. Queries emailed to a Keppel spokesperson on Thursday evening remained unanswered. This deal comes in the backdrop of Shell's plans to sell Sprng Energy group, which it acquired from Actis Llp in 2022 at an enterprise value of $1.55 billion. "We continuously review our portfolio to deliver upon our strategy. We will not comment on market speculation. Sprng remains focused on safe, reliable operations," the Shell spokesperson added, in response to a query about status and value of the Sprng Energy group transaction. This also comes as global oil majors including Shell, Total of France, Thailand's PTT Group and Malaysian state-run Petronas unit Gentari Sdn Bhd have established a presence in India's green energy sector as the conventional hydrocarbon space undergoes disruptions. There is a growing interest in green energy the Indian commercial and industrial (C&I) segment, with the latest case in point being the country's largest oil refiner and marketing company Indian Oil Corp.'s renewables unit Terra Clean Ltd planning to acquire a 50% stake in renewable energy firm Fourth Partner Energy Pvt. Ltd in a deal having an equity value of around $400 million, as reported by Mint earlier. Analysts note the action in the C&I-focused large green energy space in India. "With the C&I segment comprising 45-50% of India's electricity demand, achieving 20% RE (renewable energy) penetration over the next five years would necessitate 100GW of RE capacity implying a CAGR of 30%. This marks a substantial scale-up from the current estimated open access capacity of 25-30GW. In recent years, large RE platforms with a portfolio of more than 1GW, focused on the C&I market, have emerged in the sector," ratings agency ICRA wrote in a report....