Competition for Shell’s Sprng Energy: NIIF may partner with Temasek; binding offers due this week.

National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), an alternative asset manager backed by the Indian government and Singapore’s investment titan Temasek, is in discussions to jointly bid for Shell Plc’s Indian renewable energy platform Sprng Energy, according to multiple industry sources informed about the matter, as reported by Moneycontrol.

This proposed collaboration arrives just before multiple parties are expected to submit binding bids for this significant deal by week’s end, the sources indicated.

“NIIF is aggressively pursuing this asset and intends to team up with Temasek for the acquisition. This consortium is viewed as a formidable contender,” one informed individual stated.
Two additional sources confirmed this information. One mentioned that the deal’s valuation is projected to exceed $1.6 billion.

All four individuals provided their insights to Moneycontrol under the promise of anonymity.

In response to an email inquiry from Moneycontrol, a Shell representative stated, “Shell confirms that we are evaluating strategic options to unlock long-term value for Sprng. It’s premature to comment on the outcome of the review.”

NIIF did not respond to a request for comments, nor did Aditya Birla Group reply at the time of this article’s publication. KKR, Temasek, and Actis all declined to comment.

In 2022, Shell acquired Sprng from Actis for $1.55 billion. This marks the second transaction attempt by the global energy company following an earlier attempt at a partial stake sale across various assets in 2023 that did not materialize. The strategic review aligns with the firm’s leadership shift from low-carbon projects to a primary focus on liquefied natural gas trading and upstream activities.

Interestingly, prior to his current role as CEO and MD of NIIF, Sanjiv Aggarwal led Actis’s energy business in Asia and spearheaded its clean energy initiatives in India.

Pune-based Sprng Energy operates in solar, wind, hybrid projects, and RTC (round-the-clock) solutions across states like Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka. The firm claims a total contracted capacity of 5026.53 MWp and an operational capacity of 2300.48 MWp.

In December 2025, Blackrock’s Global Infrastructure Partners invested ₹3,000 crore in Aditya Birla Renewables Limited, valuing the renewable company at ₹14,000 crore. KKR supports the renewable energy platform Serentica Renewables in India, as well as Hero Future Energies, and launched India’s first renewable energy-focused InvIT, Virescent Infrastructure, in 2020.

On the other hand, Actis introduced BluePine Energy in 2022, an Indian renewable independent power producer aiming for over 4GW of solar, wind, and storage capacity. Reports indicate that the UK investor may now be considering an exit. In February 2025, NIIF and its co-investors sold Ayana Renewable Energy to a joint venture between ONGC and NTPC Green Energy. In March, NIIF secured commitments of $750 million for its second Private Markets Fund (PMF II).