U.S. Fund, Co-Investors Buy Asian Firm In Record $5B Renewables Deal

Independent infrastructure fund manager Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) is betting big on renewables by signing a binding agreement to buy Asia-Pacific’s largest independent renewable firm, Equis Energy, for US$5 billion including debt in a record renewable energy generation acquisition.

GIP, together with co-investors—Canada’s Public Sector Pension Investment Board and CIC Capital Corporation, a wholly-owned direct subsidiary of China Investment Corporation—are buying Singapore-based Equis Energy in a transaction expected to close in the first quarter next year, subject to customary regulatory approvals.

The deal “positions GIP as a dominant renewable energy developer in the key OECD growth markets of Australia and Japan, as well as across India and South?East Asia,” Equis and GIP said in a joint statement on Wednesday.

Equis Energy has more than 180 assets comprising 11,135 MW in operation, construction, and development across Australia, Japan, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand.

Earlier this year, reports emerged that Equis Energy had attracted none other than Shell as one of its potential suitors.

“The investment by GIP and its partners is exciting news for the development of renewable energy in the Asia?Pacific,” said David Russell, chairman of Equis Energy, commenting on the deal announced today.

“We are excited by the new investment in Equis Energy, which is a strong fit with GIP’s global renewable investment strategy. Equis Energy is a unique success story in the APAC region as it has systematically executed its growth strategy since its founding 5 years ago,” Adebayo Ogunlesi, Chairman and Managing Partner of Global Infrastructure Partners, said.

GIP, which manages more than US$40 billion for its investors, is invested in energy assets, including in Freeport LNG, Hess Infrastructure Partners, and Spain’s Gas Natural Fenosa.

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The GIP-Equis deal comes at a time when governments in Asia and Australia have been supportive of renewable energy, and wind and solar costs have been continuously declining.

“As more countries shift to renewable procurement through competitive auctions and move away from reliance on subsidies, renewables will continue to transition from being a marginal supplement to a central focus of national energy policies,” Moody’s said last month in a report on the global renewable energy costs and growth expectations.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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