New Delhi, June 25 -- Transnational conglomerate Enpee Group is looking to sell its solar photovoltaic manufacturing business in India, as part of a portfolio rationalisation drive focused on shedding non-core assets, VCCircle has learnt.

A senior solar industry executive aware of the group's plans said Enpee is considering hiving off its renewable energy arm RenewSys India Pvt Ltd, and has approached potential buyers via an investment banking firm.

This person, who did not wish to be identified, said RenewSys' promoters had approached some of the company's peers for a potential acquisition. "Solar manufacturing is a non-core business for them, so they want to exit," he said. He added that his company had been approached for a potential deal, but said that they were not considering it.

Separately, an investment banker who advises companies in the renewable energy sector, said that RenewSys had been "in the market for a year and a half" but that he was unaware of where the sale process had actually reached. This banker, who spoke independently of the industry executive cited above, added that the investment banking arm of EY had been engaged for the process but added that "they are not engaging."

VCCircle could not ascertain the valuation the Enpee Group might be seeking for RenewSys or if there had been any meaningful progress in its efforts to sell the business.

Detailed questionnaires sent to representatives at the Enpee Group and RenewSys as well as text messages sent to spokespersons and bankers at EY, seeking comments and clarifications, remained unanswered.

Enpee Group

The Enpee Group was founded in 1961 by Indian-origin businessman NP Kirpalani as a small trading house in Nigeria. Over the past six decades, it has expanded into a $515-million conglomerate with manufacturing operations across Africa and Asia.

Its business interests span packaging solutions - including crown caps, metal packaging, flexible packaging and pre-media services - construction products and services, fast-moving consumer goods through Nigeria's Pure Hygiene Ltd, adhesives and construction chemicals, and energy through RenewSys.

According to its website, apart from Pure Hygiene and RenewSys, Enpee's other group companies include Avon Crowcaps and Containers, Fine Chemicals Nigeria, Purechem Industries Ltd, Encept Packaging Brand Management, Purechem Manufacturing Ltd and Purechem Cable and Wires Ltd.

RenewSys is the group's most India-centric business in scale - but it sits alongside a conglomerate portfolio primarily anchored in packaging and FMCG operations in Africa, particularly Nigeria and West Africa.

Enpee is run by Sanjay Kirpalani, who represents the second generation of the founding family and oversees the group's investment office. RenewSys is led by vice chairman and managing director Avinash Hiranandani.

This may not be the first time the Enpee Group may be mulling selling a business. In a notable earlier divestiture, the group sold its Positive Packaging businesses in India and UAE - one of its larger platforms - to Finnish packaging major Huhtamaki PPL in 2014, for $336 million. However, Enpee retained the Positive Packaging branch in Nigeria, which was subsequently renamed PrimePak Industries Nigeria Ltd.

Enpee's energy foray

The group's energy foray came in 2012, when it diversified into the renewable energy sector with the formation of RenewSys, which commenced operations with the manufacture of ethylene vinyl acetate encapsulants and backsheets for solar photovoltaic modules. The timing coincided with India's early-stage solar push under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission.

RenewSys positions itself as India's first integrated manufacturer of solar PV modules and their key components. The company has manufacturing facilities in Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Patalganga, Maharashtra, and has grown from a components supplier to a full-stack manufacturer.

In March 2026, RenewSys inaugurated a 3 GW solar module manufacturing facility at IndoSpace Industrial Park in Khopoli, Khalapur district, Maharashtra - a plant that spans over 700,000 square feet and is designed for high-volume TOPCon G12R module production. RenewSys had leased the space from IndoSpace in April 2025. The Khopoli plant takes RenewSys's total solar module manufacturing capacity to 5.6 GW.

Beyond modules, RenewSys manufactures encapsulants with a combined targeted capacity of 24 GW and backsheets with 4 GW of capacity, largely at its Bengaluru facility.

The company's revenue was around Rs 2,447 crore for the year through March 2025 with net profit growing to Rs 237.6 crore, VCCircle reported last year. Its financials for FY26 couldn't be ascertained.

Sector headwinds: overcapacity, policy shifts, tariff shocks

The potential sale process is being run against the backdrop of a solar manufacturing sector under significant structural stress - headwinds that could complicate buyer appetite and valuation but simultaneously make quality assets more affordable.

India's solar PV module manufacturing capacity, turbocharged by the government's Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme and the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) framework, has expanded at a pace that now significantly outstrips domestic demand. Credit rating firm ICRA Ltd projects module manufacturing capacity to rise to over 165 GW by March 2027, while annual solar capacity installation is projected at only 45-50 GWdc versus 60-65 GW of module production annually.

US tariffs have significantly impacted India's export momentum, with module exports to the US falling 52% in the first half of 2025 compared to the preceding period. During August-September 2025, India's solar module exports fell from approximately $134 million to around $80 million following the blanket 50% US tariff.

The US was the dominant export destination for Indian solar manufacturers, accounting for nearly 97% of total solar exports in the first nine months of 2025, according to JMK Research and Mercom Capital. The tariff shock has redirected export-oriented volumes to the domestic market, compressing selling prices and margins.

The introduction of ALMM List-II for solar cells, effective June 2026, adds another dimension of complexity. Module manufacturers will be required to source cells only from ALMM List-II-approved domestic manufacturers for projects that fall within ALMM's scope.

On the positive side, India cut the goods and services tax (GST) on renewable energy equipment from 12% to 5%, effective September 2025, which is expected to support domestic demand and reduce solar system costs.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from VC Circle.