ChemChina, China’s state-controlled chemical giant, is selling its full stake in Europe’s largest solar-panel maker to a company controlled by Asia’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani, as the worldwide race to generate clean energy heats up, reports the South China Morning Post.
China National Bluestar Group, a unit of China National Chemical Corp (ChemChina), has agreed to sell Oslo-based REC Solar Holdings to Reliance New Energy Solar, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries, at an enterprise value of $771 million, according to a statement issued by the Mumbai-listed energy group on Sunday.
Reliance, the flagship company of founder and chairman Ambani, has almost $74 billion in annual sales. Ambani, 64, is ranked by Forbes as the richest person in Asia, with a net worth of $101.5 billion.
The purchase will give Reliance a ready global platform and an opportunity to grow in key green energy markets including in the US, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, the company said in a statement on Sunday.