BP is in advanced talks to sell its solar power arm Lightsource to a consortium backed by Wren House, the infrastructure arm of Kuwait Investment Authority, the Financial Times reported as the oil major retreats from renewables after abandoning a years-long green energy push.

Qualitas Energy, a Germany-based private equity firm, has teamed up with Kuwait’s sovereign wealth fund to bid for Lightsource, according to several people familiar with the matter. 

A major player in the green energy sector, Qualitas currently operates 11GW of solar, wind, battery and hydroelectric power assets across Spain, Germany, the UK, Poland, Chile and the US.

The sale of Lightsource, which was the largest solar developer in Europe when BP first invested in it in 2017, is part of a drive by BP to sell assets as it seeks to reduce debt and refocus on oil and gas after an ill-fated shift towards green energy, which it abandoned last year, stated the FT report.

Analysts said the main attraction of the deal for BP was offloading the unit’s billions of dollars in debt, and that the sale price was unlikely to be significant for the group.

BP has net debt of about $23bn and is aiming to reduce this to no more than $18bn by the end of next year. 

The deal, if it goes through, would add to the portfolio of Wren House, which has invested in assets including Associated British Ports and London City Airport since it was set up by Kuwait in 2013 as a Europe-focused infrastructure investor. 

Lightsource has 4GW of solar, wind and battery capacity in operation across 15 countries, roughly enough to be able to power up to 4mn homes. BP was previously seeking a new partner for the business before eventually deciding to put it all up for sale.

The deal is likely to involve a buyer agreeing to take on several billion dollars of Lightsource’s debt, said the FT report citing key sources.