Author: Staff Writer

Avaada Electro Private Ltd, the solar manufacturing arm of the Brookfield-backed Avaada Group, has confidentially submitted a Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), aiming to raise between ₹9,000 crore and ₹10,000 crore through an initial public offering (IPO).

This step marks a significant move for Avaada Electro as it looks to raise capital from public markets to expand operations and strengthen its presence in India’s renewable energy sector.

The IPO is expected to include both a fresh issue of shares and an offer-for-sale component from existing shareholders.

Proceeds from the fresh issue are planned for capacity expansion in solar cell and module manufacturing, including the development of a 5.1 GW integrated facility in Uttar Pradesh and a capacity scale-up at the Butibori plant in Maharashtra.

Avaada Electro is among the largest solar photovoltaic (PV) module manufacturers in India by operational capacity as of September 30, 2025.

It is part of the Avaada Group, a diversified clean-energy conglomerate with operations spanning solar PV manufacturing, renewable power generation, green hydrogen and derivatives, pumped hydro storage, battery storage, and green data centres.

The group, backed by Brookfield Renewable Partners and Thailand’s Global Power Synergy Public Co, raised over $1.3 billion in 2023 to fund expansion across solar, hydrogen, battery storage, and green ammonia verticals.

The company currently operates 8.5 GW of solar module capacity across its Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra facilities and plans to scale up to 13.6 GW of module capacity and 12 GW of cell capacity over the next two fiscal years.

Its operational capacity has grown rapidly from 1.5 GW in September 2024 to 8.5 GW by September 2025, following the commissioning of its Nagpur plant and the start of commercial production at the Dadri facility.

Avaada Electro is also developing a fully integrated solar manufacturing hub at Nagpur, with plans to achieve 6 GW of TOPCon solar-cell capacity by FY26 and 12 GW by FY27.

The company intends to add 3 GW of ingot and wafer capacity by FY27, completing the value chain from raw materials to finished modules.

Industry projections suggest that annual solar PV demand in India could more than double between FY26 and FY30, surpassing 40 GW per year, while domestic capacity for high-efficiency TOPCon cells remains relatively limited.

Analysts view Avaada Electro’s IPO as a strategic move to capture the country’s expanding renewable energy market and meet growing domestic and international demand for solar modules.

The IPO filing highlights increased foreign and institutional investment interest in India’s clean energy sector, reflecting confidence in the country’s renewable energy growth potential.

If successfully executed, the IPO will provide Avaada Electro with the resources to scale operations, enhance manufacturing efficiency, and solidify its position as a leading player in India’s solar energy landscape.

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India’s largest airline, IndiGo (InterGlobe Aviation), has confirmed a firm order for 30 additional Airbus A350-900 wide-body aircraft, doubling its total confirmed commitment for the type to 60 jets.

The carrier had previously placed a firm order for 30 A350-900s in April 2024, with purchase rights for an additional 70 aircraft.

The 30 additional firm aircraft confirm the conversion of part of its existing option book into firm orders, increasing its wide-body aircraft order book from 30 to 60 A350-900s.

IndiGo’s original wide-body order in 2024 represented a historic milestone for the airline, which until then had operated exclusively narrow-body aircraft.

The A350-900 fleet will be powered by Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines, under a long-term technical partnership designed to support the airline’s future long-haul operations. IndiGo expects to begin taking delivery of the A350-900 aircraft from 2027 onwards.

According to industry sources, the decision underlines IndiGo’s intent to expand beyond its strong domestic and regional footprint to long-haul destinations in Europe, East Asia, and potentially North America.

The airline views the A350-900 platform as the ideal vehicle for this expansion, offering the range, efficiency, and passenger comfort required for non-stop intercontinental operations.

IndiGo’s business model has historically centred around the Airbus A320 family, which has enabled it to dominate the domestic market with high-frequency, low-cost operations.

With the A350 order expansion, IndiGo is signalling its transition from a primarily regional low-cost carrier into a global airline with a strong presence in international markets.

The move is also consistent with India’s evolving aviation landscape, where international travel demand has risen sharply amid growing disposable incomes and the country’s emergence as one of the world’s fastest-growing aviation markets.

Analysts have noted that IndiGo’s investment in wide-body aircraft positions it to capture a larger share of outbound and inbound traffic, competing more directly with Gulf and Southeast Asian carriers that currently dominate long-haul routes to and from India.

While delivery of the A350-900s will begin in 2027, IndiGo’s expansion will require parallel investments in crew training, long-haul operations infrastructure, and international partnerships.

Industry observers say the carrier’s evolving fleet composition suggests it is preparing for a hybrid operational model that balances its low-cost core with a new premium long-haul offering.

The confirmation of 30 additional A350-900s also leaves IndiGo with the option to further expand its wide-body fleet in the future, as the airline retains purchase rights on additional aircraft under its existing agreement with Airbus.

The move reinforces IndiGo’s ambition to become a truly global airline by the end of the decade.

With a total of 60 A350-900s now on order, the carrier is positioning itself to lead India’s next phase of international aviation growth and redefine its role on long-haul routes connecting major global markets.

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Brazilian aerospace company Embraer has officially opened its new office in New Delhi, marking a significant step in its commitment to the Indian market. Embraer also signed a strategic cooperation agreement with India’s Mahindra Group to jointly develop and promote the C-390 Millennium military transport aircraft for the Indian Air Force’s Medium Transport Aircraft program.

Building on their previous partnership, the two companies aim to make India a regional hub for the C-390, focusing on local manufacturing, assembly, and maintenance. This move aligns closely with India’s ‘Make in India’ initiative and efforts to strengthen domestic defense production capabilities.

The C-390 Millennium is a versatile aircraft designed for a range of missions, including cargo transport, troop movement, medical evacuation, and firefighting. Known for its robust performance and ability to operate on short or unpaved runways, the C-390 is well-suited to meet India’s diverse defense needs.

This collaboration highlights growing international cooperation in defense and aerospace sectors, with Embraer emphasizing India’s central role in its global strategy.

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India’s shipbuilding story has entered a new era of ambition and innovation. At Cochin Shipyard, three remarkable vessels have taken to the water, each one a striking symbol of the nation’s evolving maritime strength and technological maturity.

From safeguarding coastlines to harnessing green energy and deepening ports, these ships embody how India is reshaping its future at sea with homegrown expertise and vision.

Leading the trio is a formidable anti-submarine warfare craft for the Indian Navy. Fast, manoeuvrable, and outfitted with advanced sonar, torpedoes, and rockets, it fortifies India’s coastal defence capabilities with cutting-edge precision.

The second vessel is a hybrid-electric support ship built for offshore wind farms, a milestone in India’s clean energy drive. Featuring methanol-compatible engines and high-capacity battery packs, it merges sustainability with comfort, providing a quiet, efficient base for marine technicians.

Completing the lineup is the nation’s largest dredger, engineered to keep trade flowing through deepened ports and clear waterways. With enormous hopper capacity and powerful dredging systems, it strengthens India’s maritime infrastructure and economic resilience.

Together, these launches signal more than new additions to India’s fleet as they represent a confident nation steering its own maritime destiny, powered by innovation, sustainability, and strategic purpose.

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Meta Platforms has finalised a landmark financing package of approximately $30 billion to fund its Hyperion data center in Richland Parish, Louisiana—a move that could reshape how tech firms build AI infrastructure.

The transaction, reported on October 16 and 17 by multiple news outlets, marks the largest private capital deal ever structured in the technology and infrastructure sector.

Under the agreement, Meta and investment manager Blue Owl Capital will co-own the Hyperion site, with Meta retaining just a 20 percent stake and Blue Owl taking the majority share.

The deal is structured via a special purpose vehicle (SPV): Meta will not borrow the funds itself, but will act as the developer, operator and tenant of the data center. The SPV will carry more than $27 billion in debt and about $2.5 billion in equity, arranged by Morgan Stanley.

Pacific Investment Management Company (PIMCO) is anchoring much of the debt through 144A bond issuance. The bonds are being priced at roughly 225 basis points over U.S. Treasuries and carry an investment-grade A+ rating by S&P. (Morgan Stanley is the sole bookrunner.)

The Hyperion facility is expected to span nearly 4 million square feet and eventually draw as much as 5 gigawatts of power—enough to supply around four million U.S. homes—when fully operational by 2029.

The transaction structure allows Meta to deepen its AI compute capacity without burdening its balance sheet with direct debt. Analysts say this deal offers a model for hyperscalers seeking to scale infrastructure without weakening credit metrics.

Meta has been aggressively expanding its AI infrastructure this year. In August, the company tapped PIMCO and Blue Owl for a $29 billion financing plan to build out multiple compute hubs, including Hyperion and Prometheus.

The earlier arrangement would have combined $26 billion in debt and $3 billion in equity to drive Meta’s compute ambitions.

That earlier alignment underscores how long Meta has been negotiating with private credit markets to underwrite its infrastructure expansion.

The Hyperion deal comes at a time when hyperscalers are racing to scale AI systems across the U.S. and globally.

By structuring the financing off balance sheet, Meta is transferring much of the funding risk to institutional investors while retaining operational control.

Blue Owl and PIMCO, in turn, gain long-dated exposure to a physical asset serving as the engine for AI services.

Beyond the Louisiana project, Meta is pushing ahead on other data centers. The company recently announced a $1.5 billion investment in a new data center in El Paso, Texas, capable of scaling to 1 gigawatt.

That facility is expected to be operational by 2028. El Paso represents Meta’s 29th data center globally and its third in Texas. The new location was selected in part due to its strong electrical grid and workforce capabilities. Meta intends to match the energy used with 100 percent renewable sources and adopt water-efficient cooling systems to meet sustainability goals.

Meta’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, has publicly described a “supercluster” strategy: Prometheus is slated to go live in 2026 with over a gigawatt of compute, while Hyperion is designed to grow into a multi-gigawatt complex supporting Meta’s ambitions in large AI models, content inference, vision systems, and future applications.

He has also signaled intent to spend “hundreds of billions” in capital over time to underpin what Meta calls its superintelligence ambitions.

The sheer size of the Hyperion financing transaction underscores how capital markets are aligning behind AI infrastructure. The use of SPVs, long-dated bonds, and equity partnerships enables large-scale infrastructure development while giving investors access to stable, asset-backed returns.

However, the model carries risks: timely construction, technology execution, utility interconnection, real estate permitting, and macroeconomic interest rates could all pose challenges.

The closing of this deal not only cements Meta’s footprint in AI compute but also sets a precedent for how future exits in tech infrastructure may be funded.

As Cloud and AI competition intensifies among Meta, Microsoft, Google, and others, securing scalable capital for compute will likely become a strategic battleground.

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IndusInd Bank has issued a clarification stating that the reported accounting discrepancy of ₹255 crore is not connected to any new investigation.

The bank said the irregularities were already identified in an earlier probe by an independent external agency, which submitted its report in April 2025.

In an exchange filing, the lender said, “We would like to clarify that the accounting irregularity of ₹255 crore as mentioned in the news report is not part of any new investigation being conducted by the Bank and that these findings were part of the investigation report submitted by the independent external agency to the Bank in April 2025.”

The bank added that it had disclosed all relevant details and incorporated the financial impact of the discrepancies in its audited statements for FY 2024–25, released on May 21, 2025.

According to reports citing people familiar with the matter, the Mumbai Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) continues to examine alleged accounting lapses linked to entries worth about ₹255 crore.

Preliminary findings suggest that these entries date back to around 2016, shortly after IndusInd’s treasury derivatives desk was established. Investigators are scrutinising whether these were “unsubstantiated” internal entries lacking sufficient documentation or used to inflate reported income during weaker quarters.

So far, the EOW has not found any evidence of funds being siphoned off to personal or shell accounts. Officials said the discrepancies appear to be notional, rather than representing an actual diversion of money.

Around six to eight individuals have been questioned, including former Managing Director and CEO Sumant Kathpalia, ex-Chief Financial Officer Govind Jain and former Deputy CEO Arun Khurana.

Siddharth Banerjee, head of global markets and financial institutions at the bank, is also expected to be called for questioning. Police officials said the investigation is about halfway complete and that a clearer picture of any criminality should emerge by the end of October.

The controversy follows a wider probe launched earlier this year into accounting issues at IndusInd’s derivatives and treasury operations.

In March 2025, the bank disclosed financial misstatements and potential irregularities amounting to nearly ₹1,979 crore, related to derivatives transactions and other unsubstantiated balances. In response, IndusInd appointed an independent forensic auditor to review its books. The findings led the bank to revise certain financial statements and reclassify income and asset entries.

Following these revelations, Deputy CEO Arun Khurana resigned in April 2025, and the Reserve Bank of India reportedly pressed for leadership and governance reforms at the lender.

The external audit report submitted in April included the ₹255 crore entries now under discussion, which the bank says were already accounted for in its published results.

Separately, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is conducting an inquiry into possible insider trading by former IndusInd executives.

Regulators are investigating whether certain individuals traded in the bank’s shares ahead of public disclosure of the accounting lapses, potentially using unpublished price-sensitive information.

In May 2025, SEBI imposed interim trading restrictions on several former officials, including ex-CEO Sumant Kathpalia, pending the outcome of the investigation.

The renewed focus on the ₹255 crore irregularity has revived questions about the completeness of the bank’s earlier disclosures and the overall robustness of its internal controls.

While IndusInd maintains that the issue was thoroughly investigated and fully disclosed, law enforcement and regulatory agencies continue to examine whether the irregularities point to deeper governance lapses or systemic weaknesses in oversight.

The outcome of the EOW and SEBI investigations will likely determine whether IndusInd faces any further regulatory action or reputational fallout, as the lender seeks to reassure investors and rebuild confidence following months of scrutiny.

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Adani Power Limited has incorporated a new joint venture company in Bhutan to develop the 570 megawatt Wangchhu hydroelectric project.

The newly formed entity, named Wangchhu Hydroelectric Power Limited, will be a public company incorporated in Bhutan with a 49:51 shareholding structure between Adani Power and Bhutan’s state-owned Druk Green Power Corporation (DGPC), according to the parties’ announcements.

Under the terms of the agreement, Adani Power will hold a 49 percent stake while DGPC will hold 51 percent, with the joint venture authorised to develop, construct and operate the Wangchhu scheme.

The project is the first to be taken forward under a broader memorandum of understanding signed earlier in 2025 between the Adani Group and DGPC to jointly develop up to 5,000 MW of hydropower in Bhutan.

The companies said the Wangchhu project, located within Bhutan, is planned to have an installed capacity of approximately 570 MW and will be developed through the incorporated Bhutanese public company.

The partners signed project and shareholder documents as part of formalising the arrangement, industry reports show.

Adani Power has presented the joint venture as part of a wider strategy to expand its renewable and hydroelectric footprint across the region.

The partnership with DGPC follows a May 2025 memorandum of understanding between the Adani Group and Bhutan’s government-owned power developer, which envisaged multiple hydropower projects totalling several gigawatts.

Market reaction to the announcement was evident in Indian trading floors, where Adani Power shares rose on news of the Bhutan tie-up and related corporate developments, according to financial reports. Analysts noted the move as part of the company’s broader capacity expansion plans.

Officials from both sides characterised the joint venture as a cross-border collaboration intended to leverage Bhutan’s hydropower potential and foster long-term energy cooperation between the two countries.

The partners have indicated they will proceed with detailed project planning, regulatory clearances and financing arrangements in line with Bhutanese law and applicable bilateral frameworks.

The Wangchhu incorporation marks the first operational project under the Adani–DGPC partnership and is expected to be followed by additional projects subject to feasibility studies and approvals, company statements and industry coverage said.

Timelines for construction, commissioning and power off-take arrangements were not disclosed in the incorporation announcements and will be subject to subsequent shareholder and regulatory filings.

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