Brookfield is in talks to acquire clean energy developer Neoen for $6.6 billion

Brookfield Asset Management announced today that it has entered into exclusive negotiations to acquire a majority stake in a French-based global renewable energy company with an equity value of €6.1 billion ($6.6 billion) from a responsible investment firm Impala.

Founded by Impala in 2008, Neoen is a renewable energy producer, including solar, wind and storage, with assets in 16 countries. The company’s flagship operations include the largest solar power plant in France with a capacity of 300 MW and Australia with a capacity of 460 MW, as well as two of the world’s most powerful large-scale storage plants, both in Australia, the largest onshore wind farm in Finland and a 375 MW solar power plant in Mexico.

The company has experienced significant growth over the past few years, with production capacity in operation and under construction increasing sixfold to 8 GW, with a target capacity of 10 GW by 2025.

Under the terms of the negotiations, Brookfield, together with its institutional partners, including Brookfield Renewable and Temasek, will acquire a 53% stake in Neoen from Impala for €39.85 per share, representing a 27% premium to the last transaction price, and will subsequently submit an application o mandatory cash offer for the remaining shares at the same price.

Jacques Veyrat, founder and president of Impala, said:

“Impala is delighted to sell control of Neoen to Brookfield, a responsible actor and global leader in renewable energy. Impala launched Neoen 15 years ago and has since supported every stage of its development in France and then internationally, with exceptional success in Australia.

The transaction is the latest in a series of large-scale clean energy transactions for Brookfield, including the recent acquisition of Duke Energy’s commercial renewables business for $2.8 billion, renewable energy developer Scout Clean Energy for $1 billion and Banks Renewables, one of the largest independent developers and operators of onshore wind farms in the UK, for almost $1 billion.

Brookfield said its goal is to accelerate Neoen’s growth and strengthen its position as a global leader in renewable energy.

Connor Teskey, CEO of Renewable Energy and Transformation at Brookfield Asset Management, said:

“We are excited to leverage Brookfield’s expertise, track record and access to capital to further accelerate Neoen’s growth while maintaining its culture and identity. The acquisition of Neoen further strengthens Brookfield’s global scale while diversifying into key renewable energy markets and expanding its expertise in battery storage technologies. We look forward to working with management to scale the business to meet the growing demand for clean energy we are seeing.”