APG, Marubeni, CPPIB, Mubadala eye Macquarie’s $200m Vertelo financing

Macquarie Asset Management has appointed Ernst & Young to find investors to raise $200 million in equity funding, the people said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Vertelo works to reduce the upfront capital expenditure required to drive green mobility; and provides electric vehicle (EV) fleet management services, charging infrastructure, leasing and financing, and vehicle end-of-life management services in the country.

The Green Climate Fund, the world’s largest climate fund, is a major investor in Vertelo, with a commitment of US$200 million. Vertelo plans to invest $1.5 billion.

Macquarie Group is one of India’s largest foreign infrastructure investors and has been investing in the country’s infrastructure sector since 2008, investing US$2.5 billion of equity capital in the energy transition, infrastructure and digital communications sectors.

“While the process is still in its early stages, given the nature of the area in which Vertelo operates, it has already generated a lot of interest,” one of the two people mentioned above said.

Partnerships for electric vehicle expansion

Vertelo has signed agreements with JBM and Eka Mobility to purchase 2,000 electric buses each; and has partnered with Tata Passenger Electric Mobility Ltd, a subsidiary of Tata Motors Ltd., to produce 2,000 Xpres-T electric sedans.

Spokespeople for Macquarie Group and EY declined to comment.

“We do not comment on market speculation,” a spokesperson for the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board said in an emailed response.

Inquiries emailed late Wednesday to spokespersons for APG, Marubeni Corp. and Mubadala Investment remained unanswered by press time.

Investors are increasingly interested in the green mobility sector with the implementation of the innovative vehicle-enhanced PM Electric Drive Revolution (PM E-DRIVE) program $An allocation of Rs 10,900 crore was made to replace the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME) scheme to incentivize the sale of various electric vehicles.

return, $The Rs 57,613-crore PM-eBus Sewa plans to add 10,000 electric buses for city bus operations in a public-private partnership (PPP) mode. It is supported by $Rs 3,435.33-crore PM-eBus Sewa Payment Security Mechanism (PSM) scheme for procurement and operation of electric buses by public transport authorities (PTAs) to help support deployment of over 38,000 electric buses from FY25 to FY29 . In addition, 5,131 electric buses have been incentivized under the FAME I and II schemes.

Analysts remain confident in the sector.

“Lower operating costs will drive electrification of private bus fleets; however, higher upfront costs act as a deterrent as government plans mainly focus on electrification of PTA-owned fleets,” India Ratings and Research said on Tuesday wrote in the report.

“Ind-Ra believes that financial intermediaries will act as asset-owning companies and lease buses to private fleet operators at an agreed per-km fee or monthly rental. The leasing model will help fleet operators overcome high upfront costs, providing financial intermediaries with Providing opportunities to generate sufficient revenue from stable cash flow and potentially enable existing OEMs to expand. Additionally, increasing the availability of heavy-duty public charging stations will be key as charging infrastructure is a critical part of the route. The scheme provides flexibility to public or private electric bus operators,” it said.

“The Public Transport Authority (PTA) has bid for a number of electric buses, with orders exceeding 20,000 units. Given the large number of orders for electric buses from original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), the delivery capacity of suppliers is limited given the supply schedules stipulated in the concession agreement. Improvement and scale-up of delivery in FY26 and FY27 is a key monitorable factor. Inconsistencies in measured operating parameters and related deductions are rating constraints and may require sponsor support,” the report added.

There is also growing interest in manufacturing electric vehicles in the country, with a recent example being Blue Energy Motors Ltd signing an agreement with the Maharashtra government to produce 30,000 electric trucks in the state.