KKR to acquire renewable energy firm ContourGlobal for £1.75Bn

ContourGlobal, a British power generation firm, has recently accepted a private equity takeover at a time when the demand for greener energy is increasing due to market turmoil caused by the Ukraine conflict.

According to sources, the company has accepted a bid of £1.75 billion ($2.1-billion, 2.0-billion-euro) from KKR, a US-based private equity firm.

In a statement citing decarbonization targets, KKR said that the energy conversion is driving significant changes in the current energy markets and will also require business agility and sustained capital investment.

KKR believes that it can aid ContourGlobal in its strategy, which intends to reduce around 40 percent of CO2 emissions by 2030 and be free from carbon or net-zero by 2050.

At present, ContourGlobal is headquartered in London and owns 138 power plants in Europe, Africa, North America, and Latin America.

As part of the deal, KKR will be paying 263.6 pence, constituting a 36 percent premium on closing price. The group's share price surged by one-third to 256.50 pence.

Established in 2005 by Reservoir Capital, a US-based investment fund, and Joseph Brandt, a US entrepreneur, ContourGlobal floated on the London stock market in 2017.

Russ Mould, AJ Bell investment director, says that the track record, financial performance, and business model of ContourGlobal suggest that the shares were too inexpensive , especially as this is a firm that offers energy when the World is crying out for it.

The firm also marks another important box where it has not planned to work on any new coal-fired projects, he said, adding that around one-third of its profit already comes from wind, solar and other forms of energy.

Notably, the world's energy markets have upsurged this year on supply fears as the major producer of oil and gas invaded Ukraine in February.

Source Credit - https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/renewables/us-private-equity-firm-kkr-expands-into-renewables/articleshow/91624883.cms