Moser Baer to raise US$ 100mn in PV subsidiary

NEW DELHI, INDIA -- Moser Baer, India's largest and the world’s second largest optical storage media manufacturer has received the approval of its Board of Directors to raise US $100 million (Rs. 400 crores) in its wholly owned photovoltaic subsidiary.

The investment will be made by a consortium of investors led by IDFC Private Equity, a private equity fund focused on the infrastructure space in India; together with GIC Special Investments, the private equity investment arm of GIC, a global investment management company established to manage Singapore's foreign reserves; CDC Group plc (the UK government owned emerging markets fund of funds investor) and Infrastructure Development Finance Company (IDFC), India’s leading infrastructure development and finance company.

Moser Baer’s photovoltaic subsidiary will use the proceeds to partially finance its overall plans to increase capacity to 500MW by 2010 -– making it one of the largest players in the global photovoltaic industry in a short span of time. Additionally, the transaction will position the photovoltaic subsidiary for a listing on an international exchange of repute.

Ratul Puri, Executive Director, Moser Baer, said: "We are delighted to have respected and global private equity investors as our growth partners for the photovoltaic business. We are confident that Moser Baer will benefit from the international experience of these firms, their global network of professionals and relationships.

"This investment will enhance the speed of implementation of our plans to emerge as a leading technology driven company in the global photovoltaic space from a position of financial strength and create incremental value for our shareholders. While the photovoltaic business has recently commenced commercial operations, this innovative deal has set a minimum threshold valuation for the photovoltaic business at USD 1 billion."

Ravi Khanna, CEO of the PV Business added: "Moser Baer is implementing a differentiated strategy in the high growth global photovoltaic business. The company through its wholly owned subsidiaries is leveraging existing capabilities to create differentiation in silicon technology and also straddling multiple new, potential disruptive technologies to provide optimized products to customers/installations across the world."

Moser Baer plans to rapidly emerge as a leading, global technology driven manufacturer by implementing a capacity of 500 MW by FY10 through a mix of technologies in the crystalline silicon, concentrator and thin film domain.

Globally, given the rapid growth of the photovoltaic industry, there is currently a shortage of silicon wafers, a key raw material for the photovoltaic industry. Moser Baer has implemented a flexible three-pronged model for securing raw material supply through a mix of strategic investments in silicon manufacturing, long term wafer supply contracts and spot purchases.

The company’s photovoltaic manufacturing capacities for crystalline silicon, concentrator and thin film technologies are coming up in one of India’s first renewable SEZ’s in Greater Noida.