Hong Kong Billionaire Cheng Household’s Australian Power Unit To Promote Pilbara Property For $1.1 Billion
Henry Cheng, director of Chow Tai Fook Enterprises and chairman of New World Improvement.
Alinta Power, the Australian energy firm owned by the personal funding agency of Hong Kong’s billionaire Cheng household, has agreed to promote its energy property in Pilbara to fuel pipeline operator APA Group for A$1.72 billion ($1.1 billion) together with debt.
The transaction, introduced on Tuesday, will see Chow Tai Fook Enterprises’ Alinta Power offload a number of the largest energy-generation property in Pilbara, the Western Australian area that’s identified for its iron ore and lithium mines. The corporate mentioned the sale will assist fund its renewables initiatives in Australia, together with an offshore wind farm and a hydropower storage services.
“We had a long-term imaginative and prescient and plan to decarbonise the Pilbara, which is effectively underway and underpinned by the robust renewables and emissions reductions targets of our clients and companions within the area,” Alinta Power CEO Jeff Dimery mentioned in a press release.
In a separate assertion on Wednesday, APA Group mentioned it plans to lift A$675 million by issuing new shares by way of an institutional placement to fund the deal. The Australia-listed pure fuel pipeline operator added that it’s going to fund the remainder of the deal by debt services of A$993 million and a A$75 million share buy plan for eligible shareholders.
“The acquisition of Alinta Power Pilbara delivers APA a major new progress platform within the engaging remote-grid power sector,” APA Group CEO Adam Watson mentioned within the assertion. “The enterprise is underpinned by high-quality property and a steady base of blue-chip clients working in one of many world’s main mining geographies.”
The transaction, topic to assembly sure situations, is anticipated to be accomplished within the fourth quarter this 12 months, the 2 corporations mentioned.
Alinta Power owns and operates energy stations throughout Australia and New Zealand. It additionally retails fuel and electrical energy to greater than 1 million clients. The corporate was acquired by Chow Tai Fook Enterprises in 2017 reportedly for about A$4 billion from traders together with buyout agency TPG Capital. The deal on the time marked the Hong Kong personal funding behemoth’s first main foray into Australian utilities.
Chow Tai Fook Enterprises put up Alinta Power’s Pilbara property on the market earlier this 12 months. The bid has reportedly drawn pursuits from Fortescue Metals, the iron ore powerhouse based by Australian billionaire Andrew Forrest, in addition to oil large BP.
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