KKR Acquires Biomass Power Producer Albioma
In the latest signal of investor demand for renewable energy assets, KKR & Co. agreed to buy Albioma SA, a French solar and biomass power producer, for around 1.6 billion euros ($1.7 billion).
According to reports, the buyout group offered 50 euros for each Albioma share, plus an 84 cent cash dividend. The board of directors unanimously approves the proposed transaction.
Vincent Policard, Partner and Co-Head of European Infrastructure at KKR, said:
"The energy transition requires major long-term investment. KKR is committed to accelerating the energy transition in French overseas departments and the international expansion while significantly increasing renewables in the energy mix to facilitate the exit from fossil fuels.”
According to reports, global spending on the transition to low-carbon energy increased by more than a quarter to $755 billion in 2021.
Last month, a Macquarie Company Ltd.-led group agreed to buy Reden Solar SAS, a French solar farm developer, for 2.5 billion euros, indicating that the clean-energy investment frenzy is still going strong.
To minimise emissions, Albioma, which operates power plants in French overseas territories, Mauritius, and Brazil, replaces fossil fuels with biomass such as wood waste and sugar cane residue. It is also working on solar farms in France and has just made a geothermal energy investment in Turkey.
KKR stated that it would contribute operational skills and financial resources to help the company expand internationally. By mid-May 2022, the American buyout group aims to file the tender offer paperwork with the French financial market authorities. It wants to request a squeeze-out and delisting of Albioma's shares if the offer results in it controlling 90 per cent of the company's share capital and voting rights.
KKR's private equity and infrastructure businesses have been busy deploying cash. The buyout group announced a tender offer to take Hitachi Transport System Ltd. private in a deal worth around 670 billion yen. It is also leading a consortium bidding for Ramsay Health Care Ltd. in Australia, which is valued at $15 billion.
Source: Bloomberg
