Investment giant Brookfield Renewable Partners is to gain a 20% stake in Octopus Energy as part of its planned acquisition of Origin Energy.
The company leads a consortium set to buy the Australian energy company, which includes institutional partners and global institutional investors GIC and Temasek (Brookfield), and MidOcean Energy, an LNG company managed by EIG, a leading institutional investor in the global energy and infrastructure sectors.
The acquisition values Origin at an enterprise value of £10.15 billion (AUS$18.7 billion). As such, the purchase price of £4.84 (AUS$8.91) per share represents a 53.4% premium to the company’s unaffected share price, noted Brookfield.
Origin’s board is unanimously recommending that shareholders vote in favour of the acquisition.
Along with taking on Origin’s Energy Markets business, Australia’s largest integrated power generator and energy retailer and Origin’s Integrated Gas segment as part of the deal, Brookfield and its partners will obtain wider assets owned by the company including a stake in UK energy supplier Octopus Energy.
Origin acquired a stake in the company back in May 2020, which turned Octopus into a unicorn at the time, pushing its valuation above £1 billion.
Meanwhile, the strategic partnership saw Origin gain a license for Octopus Energy’s technology platform, Kraken, allowing it to accelerate the transformation of its own retail business.
“Origin has been a tremendous partner in helping Octopus deliver cleaner, cheaper energy for customers in the UK, Australia and around the world,” said an Octopus Energy spokesperson.
“It’s exciting to keep working with Origin’s outstanding team, and now also the hugely impressive team from Brookfield. We’re thrilled that this combination of capabilities, vision and long term capital sets Octopus up for even greater impact for customers and the planet.”
Amongst other key elements of the acquisition, Brookfield has announced plans to leverage its investment capabilities to dramatically expand Origin’s renewables capacity.
It is targeting the build out of up to 14GW of new renewable generation and storage facilities over the next decade backed by £10.86 billion (AUS$20 billion).
Mark Carney, chair of Brookfield Asset Management and head of Transition Investing, said: “As the energy transition gathers pace, what’s needed is increasingly clear: faster deployment of large-scale renewables, the accelerated, responsible retirement of coal generation, and an interim, supportive role for gas as the dependable back-up fuel. Brookfield is determined that the new Origin Energy Markets will lead the way in all respects at this critical moment for the Australian economy.”
More about Brookfield’s acquisition of Origin Energy can be found on Current±’s sister site PV Tech.
