Reliance Buys Largest European Solar Panel Company
REC Group, an international solar energy company headquartered in Norway, announced that Reliance New Energy Solar Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries Ltd (Reliance), has signed a definitive binding agreement to acquire 100% shareholding of the largest European solar panel brand. REC Group (REC) welcomes the decision as this will allow a significant acceleration of the company’s expansion plans.
Over its 25-year history, REC has consistently set new standards and introduced numerous innovations in the solar photovoltaic (PV) industry. Both companies believe the deal is a perfect fit so that the companies can speed up the energy transition for a cleaner future. REC’s production capacity has limited the company in serving more customers in more markets which demand its products. This new ownership will allow REC to rapidly boost its scale and better serve its increasing customer base and end consumers.
With Reliance’s financial strength and commitment to solar, REC will grow to more than 5 GW of capacity within the next two to three years in Singapore, Europe, and the United States. In India, Reliance plans to use the acquired technology in its fully integrated, metallic silicon to PV panel manufacturing giga factory at the Dhirubhai Ambani Green Energy Giga Complex in Jamnagar, India. The plan is to initially start with 4 GW per annum of capacity and eventually grow to 10 GW per annum. The combination of high-efficiency solar panels and economies of scale will allow consumers in more markets around the globe to access REC’s solar panels and benefit from highly competitive electricity costs per kWh while actively reducing carbon emissions. Headquartered in Mumbai, India, Reliance is India’s largest private sector company, with a consolidated turnover of US$73.8 billion, cash profit of US$10.9 billion, and net profit of US$7.4 billion for the year ended March 31, 2021. Reliance’s activities span hydrocarbon exploration and production, petroleum refining and marketing, petrochemicals, retail, and digital services.
Founded and headquartered in 1996 in Oslo, Norway, REC has grown to become an advocate for the global energy transition and green economy by strongly focusing on solar technology. Among REC’s key innovations are the split cell and junction box technology in a patented twin panel design as well as the lead-free and RoHS-compliant REC Alpha Pure solar panel, based on the advanced heterojunction cell technology. REC’s advanced manufacturing techniques and its low carbon footprint silicon production in Norway allows consumers to minimize their personal environmental footprint even further.
LW44 is acting as the exclusive financial advisor and Fangda Partners and Baker McKenzie as legal advisors to REC and China National Bluestar (Group) Co in this transaction.
