- Aker will buy a majority stake in global renewable energy company Mainstream.
- This acquisition will enable the developer to expand into new markets and increase its operations in current ones.
- The acquisition will see the Norwegian investor acquire a 50 per cent stake in superconductor manufacturer SuperNode.
Norwegian investment company Aker ASA is set to become the new majority owner of wind and solar energy developer Mainstream Renewable Power. The deal will see the Oslo-based investor acquire 75 per cent of Mainstream via its renewable energy company Aker Horizons AS. The equity has been valued at €900 million (US$1.09bn) on a 100% basis.
As part of this acquisition, Aker will acquire a 50% stake in superconductor cables company SuperNode (established in 2018 by Mainstream), which developed a technology to connect offshore wind production with long-distance markets efficiently.
According to Mainstream founder and chairman, Eddie O’Connor, “the partnership means we can widen our scope for entry into new markets and further deepen and expand our leadership position in existing ones, such as in Chile where we will soon be supplying the equivalent of one in seven Chilean homes with power from our wind and solar facilities.”
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Mainstream Renewable Power, founded in 2008, has developed and facilitated the financial close of renewable energy projects with a cumulative capacity of about 6.4GW. The company currently has about 1.4GW of net capacity in operation or under construction. These projects are mainly onshore wind and solar projects in Chile and South Africa. The company is also expected to reach the financial close of about 700MW cumulative projects this year.
Aker is banking on Mainstream’s offshore wind pedigree as the company has worked on projects representing 22 per cent of the UK’s offshore wind capacity in operation or under construction. Mary Quaney, CEO of Mainstream Renewable Power also noted the company’s plan to bring 5.5 GW of renewable assets to financial close globally by 2023. “this sets us firmly on track to becoming one of the world’s first pure-play renewable energy majors.” she commented. Mainstream also has plans of listing publicly over the next couple of years.