NextEnergy Capital has mandated Mumbai-based Impact Infracap to sell a 75 MW operating solar portfolio in India, with the launch of the process expected soon, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

The portfolio may fetch an enterprise value of about INR 4bn (USD 42m), one of the sources said. Impact Infracap is likely to send out information memoranda shortly, both sources said.

A market sounding exercise is ongoing for the sale, which could attract up to 20 potential bidders, including BluPine Energy, Blueleaf Energy, Radiance Renewables, INOXGFL Group, and Suzlon, the sources said.

The UK-headquartered investor’s assets are located in the states of Karnataka, Odisha and Punjab with the capacity spread across four special project vehicles – Belgaum Renewable Energy, Omega Solar Projects, Sadipali Solar, and Samyama Jyothi Solar Energy – according to a 3 February ICRA ratings note.

Sadipali has a long-term offtake agreement with federal government-owned Solar Energy Corporation of India, according to the note. Belgaum Renewable Energy has similar agreements in place with commercial and industrial customers, and the other two with state-run distribution companies.

The A+ rating reaffirmation takes comfort from the presence of a cash pooling mechanism, ICRA stated in the note, adding that the SPVs can share surplus cash amongst themselves, providing a cushioning to each other in case of any shortfalls.

Vendor due diligence advisors include law firm Saraf and Partners, and Grant Thornton Bharat for finance and tax matters, the sources said.

NextEnergy acquired all four SPVs from other developers through NextEnergy III (earlier known as NextPower III ESG), the asset manager’s third institutional solar fund. Established in 2007, NextEnergy Capital has USD 5bn in assets under management across 11 countries, with 2 GWp of operational capacity and 1.2 GWp of construction and development-stage assets, according to its website.

NextEnergy Capital, Impact Infracap, Saraf and Partners, Suzlon, Radiance, INOXGFL, BluPine and Blueleaf did not respond to requests for comment.

Grant Thornton Bharat declined to comment.