Keppel Infrastructure Holdings (KIH), on Nov 16, has formed a joint venture company (JVCo) with Swiss-based integrated European energy company MET Holding AG (MET Group).
KIH, through Keppel Renewables Switzerland Holding AG (KRSH), will be acquiring a 49.9% stake in the new JV, named Keppel MET Renewables Holding AG. The stake will be acquired from MET Green Assets, a wholly-owned subsidiary of MET Group.
KRSH will be incorporated in Switzerland as an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Keppel Corporation.
Under the agreement, KRSH will acquire the new JV shares and pay a total amount of EUR30 million ($42.6 million).
Of the amount, EUR28.75 million ($40.83 million) will be paid as consideration for the new JV shares and a further EUR1.25 million will be paid for the assignment by MET Green Assets to KRSH. The EUR1.25 million is for the 49.9% of the existing shareholders loan extended by MET Green Assets to Keppel MET Renewables.
As part of the deal, KIH has divested a 10% stake out of the 20% it owns in MET Group for a consideration of EUR31.86 million. The shares were sold to Benjamin Lakatos, who is the founder and CEO of MET Group. The proceeds, including gains, were invested into the JV.
According to KIH, the JV serves as the next phase of its strategic partnership with MET Group since the former invested 20% in the latter in 2020.
The new JV will pursue and invest in both greenfield and brownfield solar and onshore wind assets across Western Europe, which will complement MET Group’s businesses across Europe, KIH adds.
The JV has a target to scale up rapidly to at least 1GW of operating and ready-to-build renewable energy projects. It will be seeded with an initial portfolio of 213MW of early-stage solar projects in Italy from MET Group, says KIH. These assets are expected to achieve commercial operations, in phases, between end-2024 and mid-2025.
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“Solar and wind energy will be cornerstones for the EU to promote the uptake of renewables-based electrification in transport, heating and cooling, and facilitate the achievement of its energy transition aspirations. The European Green Deal and the REpowerEU plan give rise to vast opportunities for renewable energy projects and sector coupling across the EU economy which aim to set a more resilient and sustainable energy system,” says Cindy Lim, CEO of KIH.
“The initial portfolio of Italian solar assets offers an attractive platform for us to form a beachhead in the burgeoning renewables sector in Western Europe. Keppel MET Renewables will continue to pursue such opportunities in other Western European countries, such as France, Germany, Portugal and Spain, and take our business to the next level,” Lim adds.
“I am excited that we are stepping up to the next level of strategic partnership with Keppel. The renewables joint venture we have established is the right platform for our cooperation and fits perfectly within the long-term vision of both companies. MET and Keppel are dedicated to support the energy transition in Europe,” says MET Group founder and CEO Lakatos.
Upon the completion of the proposed transactions, the JV will become an associated company of Keppel. At the same time, MET Group will cease to be an associate of the group.
Shares in Keppel closed 2 cents lower or 0.27% down at $7.29 on Nov 15.
