Brookfield eyes USD-13.4bn renewables spree after Origin deal

March 28 (Renewables Now) - Brookfield Asset Management Inc (TSE:BAM.PF.F), along with institutional partners and investors, has agreed to buy the energy markets business of Australia’s Origin Energy Ltd (ASX:ORG) in a deal paving the way for over AUD 20 billion (USD 13.37bn/EUR 12.36bn) of investments in renewables and storage.

Sydney-based electricity producer and natural gas supplier Origin on Monday agreed to be acquired by Brookfield, its partners and Midocean Energy, a liquefied natural gas (LNG) company formed and managed by US private equity firm EIG. The scheme gives the Aussie company an enterprise value of AUD 18.7 billion.

The bidding consortium filed a non-binding bid to take over Origin last November, offering AUD 9 per share in cash, which was last month trimmed to AUD 8.90 per share. The final purchase price stands at AUD 8.91 per share.

Under the binding agreement, Brookfield and its partners GIC Pte Ltd and Temasek Holdings Pte will acquire Origin’s energy markets business, which is involved in power generation and retail and holds a 24% share of Australia’s national electricity market. MidOcean, meanwhile, will take possession of Origin’s integrated gas business and upstream gas interest, along with a 27.5% stake in the Australia Pacific LNG joint venture project with ConocoPhillips and Sinopec.

Brookfield’s plan for Origin Energy Markets is to enhance the development of renewable generation capacity and facilitate the construction of up to 14 GW of new assets over the next decade. The plan will be backed by at least AUD 20 billion, enabling the retirement of Eraring, Australia’s largest coal-fired power station.

Brookfield noted its plans to bring in Indian energy giant Reliance Industries to assess areas of collaboration in the renewable energy field.

“We will build on the success of our global renewable power and transition business where we have a mandate to ‘go where the emissions are’ in putting billions of dollars behind an executable plan to reduce emissions at Origin,” said Brookfield Asia Pacific CEO Stewart Upson.

(AUD 1.0 = USD 0.669/EUR 0.618)