Dikhyaa Mohanty 
Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries purchased a 26% share in one of Gautam Adani’s power plants in Madhya Pradesh through an unprecedented partnership between rival billionaires. According to separate stock exchange filings from the two companies, Reliance would acquire 5 crore equity shares of face value Rs 10 at par (Rs 50 crore) in Mahan Energen Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Adani Power Ltd, and will employ 500 MW of generation capacity for captive use. The two richest men in Asia and India have long pursued their own interests while frequently being positioned against one another by the media and pundits.
With Ambani’s interests in oil and gas, retail, and telecom, and Adani’s concentration on infrastructure, which includes coal, mining, and sea ports, they seldom ever crossed paths. Adani hopes to overtake all other renewable energy producers in the world by 2030, and Reliance is constructing four gigafactories in Jamnagar, Gujarat, one for fuel cells, one for batteries, one for solar panels, and one for green hydrogen. Adani is also constructing three gigafactories to produce hydrogen electrolysers, wind turbines, and solar modules.
When Adani Group submitted an application to take part in an auction of spectrum, or airwaves, capable of delivering fifth generation (5G) data and phone services, a showdown between the industry titans was expected. Adani, in contrast to Ambani, purchased 400 MHz of spectrum in the 26 GHz band, which is not intended for use by public networks. “Under the captive user policy as defined under the Electricity Rules, 2005, Mahan Energen Ltd (MEL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Adani Power Ltd (APL), has entered into a 20-year long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) for 500 MW with Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL),” Adani Power stated in the filing.
“In order to avail the benefit of this policy, RIL has to hold a 26 per cent ownership stake in the captive unit in proportion to the total capacity of the power plant. It will accordingly invest in 5 crore equity shares of MEL, aggregating to Rs 50 crore for the proportionate ownership stake,” the filing said. In a similar disclosure, Reliance stated: “MEL, a company engaged in generation and supply of power, was incorporated on October 19, 2005. The turnover of MEL, as per its audited standalone financial statement, for financial years 2022-23, 2021-22 and 2020-21 was Rs 2,730.68 crore, Rs 1,393.59 crore and Rs 692.03 crore, respectively.”
