Canada’s Brookfield was up after said on Thursday that together with Brookfield Renewable Partners and Singapore’s Temasek Holdings it has entered into exclusive talks to buy a majority stake in French renewable power producer Neoen, valuing it at around 6.1 billion euros (US$6.6-billion).
The deal marks one of the biggest take private deals in Europe this year and comes amid strong investor interest in renewable energy assets.
Asset manager Brookfield said it is in discussions to acquire a 53.32-per-cent stake for 39.85 euros per share from Neoen’s main shareholders, and then the remainder of the company at the same price, according to a joint statement by the companies.
The offer price was almost 27 per cent higher than Neoen’s last closing price. Shares of Neoen closed at 31.40 euros on Wednesday, giving the company a market cap of about 4.8 billion euros.
“Brookfield’s offer implies an equity value for 100 per cent of the shares of 6.1 billion euros,” Neoen said in a statement.
Brookfield and partners will buy a 42-per-cent stake in Neoen owned by French billionaire Jacques Veyrat’s Impala SAS and the balance from other shareholders of Neoen, an independent producer of renewable energy operating in 16 countries.