Global renewables investor Actis has agreed to sell 100% of African independent power producer (IPP) BTE Renewables to French utility giant Engie and investment firm Meridiam for US$1 billion.
The pan-African renewable energy platform, BTE Renewables, was established in 2017 and focuses on solar and wind projects with an installed capacity of nearly 500MW between six projects, five located in South Africa and the other one in Kenya. BTE has a current pipeline of projects under development exceeding 5GW across the region.
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Engie will be acquiring the South African portfolio – which comprises 190MW of solar PV capacity and a 3GW portfolio in an advanced development – and its staff, while Meridiam will acquire the Kenyan assets consisting of 250MW of solar and wind projects in operations and development. Operational assets in Kenya are mostly onshore wind with 100MW of solar PV opportunities that have been identified.
With this transaction, Actis sells another of its renewables asset in Africa, after selling renewables IPP Lekela earlier this year.
Lisa Pinsley, head of Middle East & Africa Energy at Actis, said: “The sale of BTE Renewables marks our fifth energy platform exit in Africa, where we have now built and owned 5GW of generation capacity, making Actis one of the largest investors in the regional energy sector. When we established BTE, our intention was to help meet the growing demand for electricity in Africa. Through our investment and our experience in doing this globally, we have grown and developed a leading power company, with an outstanding team based on the continent and a promising pipeline of projects.”
Completion of the transaction is expected by Q4 2023, subject to the fulfilment of certain authorisations.