Auro Mira Energy Company Private Limited (AME), one of the fastest growing clean energy companies in the Indian sub-continent, today announced that it had raised USD 21 million through its second round of institutional funding by a consortium of PE investors comprising of Aureos South Asia Fund, IFC and ePlanet Ventures for a minority stake.
Auro Mira was founded in 2005 with funding support from a PE Fund advised by Baring India and has currently two sites in India generating renewable energy using biomass for sale to corporates across the country. The company has aggressive expansion plans and has commenced four new renewable energy projects in small hydro and biomass sector to attain 100 MW generation capacity by 2012. It currently has two operating biomass projects of 7.5 MW and 10 MW size. The investment by the three private equity investors will enable Auro Mira to complete these projects as well as acquire land and licences for further new projects.
Balaji Srinivas, Managing Partner at Aureos Capital, Indian operations, said, “Auro Mira is a company that has a very successful track record and their focus on the production of renewable energy ties in perfectly with our own commitment to working with our investee companies to improve all aspects of their sustainability and environmental awareness. We look forward to further enhancing Auro Mira’s already excellent credentials in this area and are delighted to have made this investment.”
According to Tom Davenport, IFC Regional Director for South Asia, IFC, “IFC promotes clean energy projects to meet India’s significant power shortages. We support Auro Mira that has demonstrated its ability to develop commercially viable and sustainable energy projects using local agri wastes. We are happy that this project will help save 76,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually.”
Commenting on the occasion, Asad Jamal, Chairman and CEO and Chandrasekar Kandasamy, Managing Director, ePlanet Ventures, the world’s leading global venture capital firm headquartered in Silicon Valley, California, announced, “India is a key part of our overall investment strategy and we believe the power sector will outperform over the foreseeable long term. Auro Mira is a very promising play in this context and we are very confident of their ability to build a large power generation business from renewable sources. We are very pleased to partner with them in the journey ahead and contribute to their growth with our global expertise.”
Commenting on the PE investment, N. Srinivasan, Founder, Auro Mira Energy Company Private Limited said “The exploding potential for renewable energy holds enormous opportunity for Auro Mira. The company is well poised with demonstrated project management capability, operational performance & profitability including revenue from carbon credit. This investment by IFC Washington, Aureos & ePlanet recognises AME’s achievements and will greatly support the future growth plans”
According to Barings spokesperson Keshav Misra, “We are very pleased with this development and it is a validation of the strong business that has been built in Auro Mira over the past several years. The company is at an inflexion point in terms of growth and we welcome the new investors and look forward to collectively taking the company to new heights of success”
Source: India Infoline