ECOPRENEUR… Tejpreet Singh Chopra

Let There be Light

Tejpreet Singh Chopra President & CEO
BHARAT LIGHT & POWER

    The man who headed General Electric’s (GE’s) business in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh and later, as India head of GE Aviation Services, arranged for $1 billion in financing to seed a fledgling airline sector, has converted into a cleantech entrepreneur. Tejpreet Singh Chopra set up multi-source renewable energy company Bharat Light & Power in January 2010. Eighteen months later, in September 2011, he obtained funding from early-stage investors Draper Fisher Jurvetson and VenturEast. These investors brought in 53 crore, or $10 million, for a 39.2% stake in Bharat Light & Power, according to data collated by Venture Intelligence, a research service focused on private equity and mergers & amalgamation activity. A VenturEast official confirmed the deal on condition of anonymity, although Chopra declined to participate in this feature and Draper Fisher Jurvetson could not be reached. Arun Natarajan, CEO of Chennai-based Venture Intelligence, confirms the deal. “The investors have a minority stake in Bharat Power initially, which may go up if the company chooses to raise more money,” points out Natarajan. Chopra’s company has also made bids for Lanco Infratech’s wind-power assets and DLF’s wind-power business, as confirmed by an official close to the deal, on condition of anonymity.

Kausik Datta & Ahona Ghosh ET120809