US buyout group TPG has agreed to acquire Aseem Infrastructure Finance Ltd (AIFL) for ₹4,000 crore alongside consortium partners ICICI Bank and GIC of Singapore. According to reports from The Economic Times, the three sponsors of the NBFC will exit as part of this strategic deal. A binding agreement is expected to be finalised over the next few days, with the transaction valued at around one-and-a-half times book value. The total transaction value will be closer to ₹5,000 crore but since NIIF will be buying back its stake, the net proceeds for the sponsors of Aseem will be ₹4,000 crore.
Aseem Infrastructure Finance was established six years ago to provide debt funding for long-term core sector projects with special emphasis on clean energy. As reported by The Economic Times, the company's sponsors include the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund II holding a controlling 59% stake, while the government of India maintains a 31% stake through direct investment, and Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp holds the remaining 10% stake. The acquirers will take over the entire team, the ₹1,800 crore loan book, and the Aseem brand. AIFL raised ₹1,287 crore through two rounds of capital infusions by NIIF in January 2020 and May 2020, followed by about ₹947 crore from NIIF and GoI in March 2021 and subsequently ₹317 crore from SMBC in March 2022.
According to The Economic Times, Aseem reported a networth of ₹3,267 crore on March 31, 2025. The company has gradually added greenfield projects to its portfolio, accounting for 22% of the total ₹15,156 crore book on March 31, 2025. The transaction will also include the transfer of Aseem's 30% stake in NIIF Infrastructure Finance Ltd (IFL), another NBFC, though NIIF will be buying back this stake from the acquirers. ICRA noted in a credit report from June 2022 that while the addition of under construction projects adds to portfolio vulnerability due to project execution risks, AIFL has mitigated this risk by being selective in its lending to projects with relatively better credit profile and investing in the later stages of greenfield projects, most of which have successfully achieved completion and commercial operation dates.
As reported by The Economic Times, TPG has earmarked a $1 billion initial investment for a first-of-its-kind green financing platform under TPG Rise Climate to help enterprises transition from fossil fuel-based energy systems to greener options. The platform will be helmed by former Barclays banker Hardik Dalal and Manish Chourasia, who previously served as managing director of Tata Cleantech Capital Ltd. According to McKinsey's calculations, efforts to finance energy transition face an annual deficit of $100-125 billion in the country. TPG has been working with consulting firm McKinsey to finalise the investment strategy and focus for the green lending platform, which will cover the entire gamut ranging from renewable power producers or their supply chains, to helping them with project finance, working capital, even at the construction stage. The platform will also cover the renewable energy vendor ecosystem as part of electric vehicle (EV) fleet management and transition finance for industrial decarbonisation in core sectors.
According to The Economic Times, TPG has been actively investing in the green energy sector, including a $550 million deal with Siemens Gamesa for onshore wind turbine manufacturing business in India and Sri Lanka, and a ₹8,820 crore ($1.1 billion) investment with Tata Consultancy Services for gigawatt-scale AI-ready data centres. The Aseem transaction will provide building blocks for this green financing platform, with TPG proactively scouting for investment opportunities in the green energy space. The Aseem acquisition is expected to be valued at around one-and-a-half times book value, implying a transaction size that would rank among larger equity bets in the country's infrastructure lending space.
