Billionaire Andrew Forrest to buy renewable energy firm CWP for $2.7 billion

185
3
Billionaire Andrew Forrest to buy renewable energy firm CWP for $2.7 billion

Andrew Forrest, a billionaire and Partners Group Holding AG backed CWP Renewables Pty, has agreed to acquire Partners Group Holding AG-backed CWP Renewables Pty for about A $4 billion $2.7 billion valuation, extending a rush of deal-making focused on Australia's shift to cleaner energy.

The parties said in separate statements that Forrest s Squadron Energy Pty will add a CWP portfolio that includes 1.1 gigawatts of wind operations, approvals for solar and battery assets, and as much as 20 gigawatts of potential future development projects. People familiar with the matter who requested anonymity to discuss details said the deal values CWP Renewables at around A $4 billion.

Representatives of Squadron and Partners Global didn't want to comment on the financial terms.

It is important that Australia continues to increase renewable energy, economically power homes and industry at a pace and to rid the Australian consumer of its forced reliance on expensive, dangerously pollutive fossil fuels, Forrest said in a Wednesday statement.

Squadron is constructing a $3 billion wind, solar and battery development facility in Queensland state, a gas import terminal in New South Wales state and holds a stake in Sun Cable Pte Ltd.'s $30 billion project to export renewable energy from Australia to Singapore.

The CWP deal extends mining tycoon Forrest's advance into renewables, a move that includes plans to transform his Fortescue Metals Group Ltd., a key global iron ore supplier, into a producer of green metals and clean hydrogen.

Australia, one of the world's biggest per-capita emitters, is one of the investors who are looking to replace expensive and unreliable coal-fired power plants with cleaner alternatives. In the past month, Brookfield Asset Management Inc. agreed to a $18.4 billion offer to acquire utility Origin Energy Ltd., while tech billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes invested in rival AGL Energy Ltd.

In September Australia passed its first major climate legislation in more than a decade, setting legally binding targets to deepen emissions curbs. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese s government has also pledged to boost renewables in the nation's energy mix.

In recent months, key utilities, including Origin and AGL, have gone ahead with plans to shutter fossil fuel-powered facilities because of rising competition from cheaper clean energy sources. Some opposition lawmakers and major power consumers were concerned about how quickly electricity producers can add alternative sources of generation.

When large industrial and commercial customers come to us, they are looking for efficient and firmed renewable power at scale," Eva Hanly, Squadron Energy Chief Executive Officer, said in a statement. With this acquisition, we will develop and operate an extensive geographic portfolio of night and daytime wind, solar and storage assets that will ensure reliability of supply for our customers. None of Twitter Under Elon Musk Still Has to Live in Apple's World