Global private equity major Partners Group announced that it has agreed to sell Australian wind farms company CWP Renewables to local energy firm Squadron Wind Energy Assets.
The announcement did not provide financial details of the acquisition but an AFR report on Tuesday said the transaction is expected to be worth more than A$4 billion (about $2.7 billion), making it one of Australia’s biggest ever renewable energy deals.
The AFR report added that Squadron, which is part of the Forrest family’s Tattarang, beat bids from Iberdrola, one of the biggest utilities in the world, and Australia’s Tilt Renewables.
On its website, Squadron said its other investments include Clark Creek project in Queensland, solar energy export firm Sun Cable, and wind farm services group Windlab.
Partners Group said it has developed CWP from the ground up. The firm invested in Sapphire Wind Farm, the first of the CWP assets to be constructed, in 2016.
CWP’s renewable energy platform spans onshore wind and battery farms, and provides power to clients, including Transurban, Woolworths Group, Sydney Airport, Commonwealth Bank, and Snowy Hydro.
The platform currently operates over 1.1 GW of wind assets, including Sapphire Wind Farm, which has 75 turbines generating up to 270 MW, Murra Warra I & II (with a combined 435 MW), Bango Wind Farm (244 MW), and Crudine Ridge (142 MW).
Its portfolio also includes a construction-ready 414 MW wind farm and a 30 MW battery project.
The platform, including late-stage construction assets, creates enough energy to power 200,000 homes, employs more than 1,000 Australians, and avoids 2.1 million tons of emissions through its renewable power generation, said Andrew Kwok, head of Private Infrastructure Asia at Partners Group.
The deal is subject to customary regulatory approvals.
Renewable energy is a core thematic focus for Partners Group, which seeks to invest in next-generation infrastructure assets that benefit from decarbonization trends.
Since 1996, the firm has invested $185 billion in private equity, private real estate, private debt, and private infrastructure on behalf of its clients globally.