RIL Picks Up 79.4% Stake In Solar Infra-Focused SaaS Platform SenseHawk For $32 Mn

Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) on Monday (September 5) signed definitive agreements to acquire a 79.4% stake in cloud-based analytics and cleantech platform SenseHawk for $32 Mn (INR 255 Cr).

In a regulatory filing, RIL said that the deal would be executed through primary infusion and secondary purchase. The deal is subject to certain regulatory conditions and is likely to be completed before the end of the current year.

The acquisition will enable RIL to leverage SenseHawk’s products and deploy them alongside other investments of the conglomerate in the cleantech space. 

“SenseHawk, along with the other investments of the company (RIL) in new energy, will be synergistic and create unique solutions with higher value to customers,” RIL said in a statement. 

Covington & Burling and Khaitan & Co acted as the legal advisors for the deal, whereas Deloitte served as the accounting and tax advisor for RIL on the transaction.

“In collaboration with SenseHawk, we will drive down costs, enhance productivity and improve on-time performance to deliver the lowest LCoE (levelised cost of electricity) for solar projects globally and make solar energy the go-to source of power in lockstep with our vision for solar energy,” RIL chairman and managing director Mukesh Ambani said.

Founded in 2016 by Rahul Sankhe and Swarup Mavanoor, SenseHawk offers software-centric management tools to automate and streamline operations at their solar assets from planning to maintenance. Its solutions combine drones, sensors, data analytics and workflow management to create tools targeted at the solar infrastructure industry. 

SenseHawk claims to have onboarded more than 140 clients across 15 countries, and its technology has been deployed at more than 600 sites and assets totalling over 100 gigawatts (GWs). The cleantech startup reported a turnover of $2.32 Mn in financial year 2021-22 (FY22), up from $1.16 Mn in FY21. 

The startup operates in multiple continents including EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa), APAC (Asia-Pacific), and SEA (South-East Asia) and countries such as the US. 

SenseHawk last raised $7.1 Mn in two rounds in 2020 from investors including Elevation Capital and Alpha Wave Incubation.

The announcement comes days after RIL’s another SaaS startup NowFloats converted itself into a public company as it looks to list on the bourses sometime in the future. 

The oil-to-telecom company has ramped up its focus on the burgeoning cleantech space. In January this year, the company announced that it would be investing $80 Bn over the next 10-15 years on renewable energy.

In February this year, RIL also acquired a 10.37% stake in Sterling and Wilson Renewable Energy, taking its total stake in the latter to 40%. In December last year, one of RIL’s subsidiaries bought UK-based battery technology company Faradion for $135 Mn. 

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