Infrastructure investor Actis has acquired a stake in Latin American renewables asset owner Omega Energia as it looks to develop a pipeline of assets in the region.
Actis is to join the controlling block of shareholders in Omega which owns a 1.9GW-strong pipeline of solar, wind and hydropower generating assets in Brazil.
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Among Omega Energia’s assets is the Pirapora Solar Complex in Minas Gerais, a complex of 11 operational solar plants with a combined capacity of 321MW, of which Omega owns a 50% share having acquired the stake in 2018. EDF Renewables owns the remaining 50% stake in the complex, with Canadian Solar having also been a former investor in the project.
Omega is now looking to broaden its horizons however and Actis’ investment will provide equity capital to support the development of a pipeline of early-stage assets the company says will “establish Omega as a leader in the energy transition space across the Americas”.
Antonio Bastos, founder at Omega Energia, said the business had looked to work with Actis given the investor’s experience in building clean energy platforms across Latin America.
Actis said it had extensive experience of Latin American energy markets having collaborated with developers and independent power producers in the region including the likes of Brazil’s Echoenergia, Atlas Renewable Energy, Aela Energia and two of Mexico’s largest IPPs in Saavi Energia and Zuma Energia.
Actis’ investment in Omega has originated from the company’s Energy 5 fund and constitutes the fund’s first investment in the Americas. It has been structured as a private investment in public equity and also includes governance rights to acquire shares through both secondary and primary capital tranche transactions in the future.
“We see an enormous opportunity to work alongside Omega, one of Latin America’s most respected energy leaders with whom we share an exciting alignment of values and ambition, to position the company as a major player in the energy transition space across the Americas,” Michael Harrington, partner at Actis, said.
Brazil will be among Latin America’s leading solar markets in the coming years with a number of developers and asset owners, including the likes of Voltalia, Statkraft and Canadian Solar’s Recurrent Energy maintaining an interest in the country.
