The acquisition forms an important part of Scatec Solar’s broadened growth strategy, with an ambition to become a global large-scale player in solar, hydro, wind and storage solutions, and an integrator of high-value infrastructure solutions.
Scatec Solar and SN Power have a unique and complementary portfolio of assets, geographical footprint and capabilities, and will together hold a large project pipeline across solar, hydro, wind and storage.
The combined company will have 450 employees, power plants in 14 countries and gross 3.3 GW of plants in operation and under construction. When all plants are in full operation from early 2021, the median annual production is expected to be 4.1 TWh.
“Hydropower and solar PV are complementary technologies, resulting in new project opportunities, for instance floating solar on hydro reservoirs. With this transaction we see great potential in broader project origination and geographical expansion into growth markets in South East Asia and Sub-Sahara Africa. SN Power adds scale and significant cash flow from operating plants and will raise stakeholder value; benefiting customers, employees, shareholders, business partners and the societies in which we operate,” says Raymond Carlsen, CEO of Scatec Solar.
“Norfund’s investment in SN Power has contributed to job creation, improved living conditions and avoided carbon emissions. By mobilising private capital in SN Power, we can recycle significant funds for new investments, demonstrating the effectiveness of using development aid to invest in clean energy in developing countries,” says Tellef Thorleifsson, CEO of Norfund.
Key transaction highlights
Financial details
The acquisition is fully funded through a combination of cash available from Scatec Solar’s balance sheet, a $ 200 million vendor note, a $150 million term loan and a $700 million acquisition financing from Nordea, DNB, BNP Paribas and Swedbank. The acquisition finance is available until 12 months after transaction close and is expected to be refinanced through debt and equity.
The acquisition offers an opportunity to create significant value for Scatec Solar’s shareholders and is expected to deliver returns well above Scatec Solar’s cost of equity and be highly accretive to underlying earnings in 2020 and beyond
Through the addition of high quality, long-term earnings, the transaction further diversifies the group’s cash flows and strengthens Scatec Solar’s ability to accelerate further growth
The transaction is conditional upon customary regulatory approvals and local competition approvals and is likely to be completed in the first half of 2021. Until then the two companies will continue to operate as separate entities.
Integration preparations will start immediately. Scatec Solar will continue to be listed on Oslo Stock Exchange (Oslo Børs) and intends to change its name to Scatec.
