A consortium led by state-owned China Three Gorges South Asia Investment (CSAIL) has completed a deal to acquire Dubai-based wind and solar developer Alcazar Energy Partners (AEP).
The deal will give CSAIL a vital foothold in the renewable energy markets in the MENA region. While financial details weren’t disclosed, Bloomberg reported earlier that a deal could value Alcazar at about $1 billion, including debt.
In just under six years, AEP, whose investors include a fund linked to Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Co., Dubai-based BluStone Management Ltd. and the World Bank’s International Finance Corp., has built a portfolio of five solar and two wind projects in Egypt and Jordan, with a total operational capacity of 411MW.
Daniel Calderon, co-founder and chief executive officer of AEP, said: “We are proud of what we have achieved at Alcazar Energy Partners with the support of our investors, lenders and local governments over the past six years. In this short period of time, we have built the MENA region’s leading developer and producer of renewable energy.
“Our plants have helped develop the renewable energy industry in Jordan and Egypt powering 275,000 households and saving over 15.6m tons of CO2 whilst also making a strong contribution to economic growth and employment, particularly within the local communities.”
Daniel Calderon, co-founder and chief executive officer of Alcazar Energy Partners (AEP).
Driven by investor demand, the MENA region’s renewable energy sector is exposed to strong structural growth trends, with 157GW of renewable energy capacity and an additional $175 billion expected to be invested in the next ten years.
CSAIL is an investment holding company which was formed by China Three Gorges Corporation (CTG) and China Three Gorges International Corporation (CTGI) in 2011, to acquire, develop, build, own and operate renewable power generation projects, primarily in Asia.
China Three Gorges listed its renewable energy subsidiary earlier this year in Shanghai, raising $3.6bn. It has been acquiring foreign assets for more than a decade. Since early 2020, it’s invested roughly 1bn euros ($1.2 bn) in Spanish solar projects.
Standard Chartered Plc advised Alcazar on the deal. They began a strategic review last year, with the process taking longer than expected due to the coronavirus pandemic.
CSAIL was advised by Natixis and its affiliates by Vermilion Partners and EFG Hermes. Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer provided legal advice to Alcazar.
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