Big Indian banks are competing to fund a massive deal for the Aditya Birla Group. The conglomerate wants to buy Shell Plc’s renewable energy business in India. To do this, they needed a loan of ₹14,000 crore, but the banks have offered much more. Total commitments from four major lenders have reached ₹24,000 crore, which is 70% more than the initial requirement.

State Bank of India (SBI) and Axis Bank are leading the way. Both have committed up to ₹7,000 crore each for this deal. Other public sector giants like Union Bank of India and Punjab National Bank (PNB) have also stepped in, offering around ₹5,000 crore each. While these are the commitment limits, the actual money given out (disbursement) will be based on the final deal size. The group is also talking to private lenders like HDFC Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank for even more credit lines.

This deal is happening because of a big change in rules. From July 1, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) allowed local banks to fund corporate acquisitions (buying another company). Before this, it was hard for Indian banks to lend for such purposes. Now, Indian banks are ready to take on global banks to fund big-ticket business deals in the country.

The money will be used by Aditya Birla Renewables Ltd. to buy 100% of Solenergi Power Pvt. This company owns Sprng Energy, which handles Shell’s solar and wind power projects in India. By doing this, the Birla Group will control a 5-gigawatt green energy portfolio. This move helps the group expand quickly in the clean energy sector, which is a major focus for the Indian government.

The loan terms are quite competitive. The interest rates are expected to be between 7.6% and 7.7%. The repayment period (tenor) is very long, ranging from 12 to 20 years. The loan will be taken through Special Purpose Vehicles (a separate legal entity created for a specific project). This long-term funding shows that banks have high confidence in renewable energy projects.

For bank officers and aspirants, this is a sign of a shifting market. Data shows that bank lending grew by 18.3% recently, which is faster than the growth in deposits. With more liquidity (cash availability) expected in the system, borrowing costs might even come down. This deal sets a standard for how Indian banks will handle large corporate buyouts in the future.

Keep an eye on how these 'club loans' (where multiple banks join together to lend) perform. If this acquisition is successful, we can expect many more large companies to approach Indian banks for merger and acquisition funding. It is an exciting time for corporate banking teams as they move beyond traditional working capital loans into high-stakes investment financing.