Genus Power hits record high as GIC to buy 74% stake in firm's smart metering venture

Genus Power share price: Shares of Genus Power jumped 20 per cent to hit a record high of Rs 168.90 apiece on the BSE on Wednesday after the company announced that Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC will acquire a 74 per cent stake in Genus Power & Infrastructure's new smart metering solutions venture for $2 billion (over Rs 16,000 crore).

Jaipur-based Genus Power, a leading manufacturer of smart electricity meters, is part of the USD 400 million Kailash Group. It has two business divisions -- metering solutions and an EPC segment providing a complete range of services to the power sector.

In a statement on Tuesday, Genus said that GIC will invest $2 billion in its upcoming platform that will offer advanced metering services.

Post the deal, Gem View Investment, an affiliate of GIC, will hold a 74 per cent stake in the platform while the remaining 26 per cent shareholding will be with Genus Power.

As part of the deal, Chiswick Investment, another affiliate of GIC, will invest up to Rs 519 crore by way of a preferential allotment of warrants which will constitute 15 per cent of the paid-up share capital of Genus Power on a fully diluted/as converted basis.

Genus Power will be the exclusive supplier to the platform for smart meters and associated services.

According to Genus Power, the funding represents the largest transaction in the smart metering space in the country.

Under the national smart metering project, which is part of the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS), the government is planning to install 250 million smart meters by 2025 with an estimated investment of $30 billion.

Jitendra Kumar Agarwal, Joint Managing Director of Genus Power, said the GIC investment attests to the strong prospects of smart metering space, its manufacturing prowess and its execution track record.

Genus Power's share price

Shares of Genus Power have jumped 122 per cent over the past 12 months, Trendlyne data show.