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(Bloomberg) — Brookfield is nearing the purchase of a 53% stake in Neoen SA in a deal valuing the French renewable energy developer at about €6.1 billion ($6.6 billion), people familiar with the matter said.
As part of the transaction, the Canadian asset manager is buying the 42%-owned by French billionaire Jacques Veyrat’s Impala SAS holding company, according to the people. Brookfield is acquiring remainder from some of Neoen’s other shareholders, offering about €40 per share, they said.
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Once it has completed the stake purchase, Brookfield intends to make a tender offer for the rest of the company at the same price and take it private, the people said. The deal could be announced as soon as Thursday, they said.
Neoen shares closed down 4.09% at €31.40 in Paris trading on Wednesday, giving the company a market value of about €4.8 billion.
Brookfield’s stake purchase will value Neoen at about €9.1 billion including debt, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing confidential information. Representatives for Brookfield and Neoen declined to comment.
A deal would rank as one of the largest take-privates in Europe this year and would come at a time when listed alternative energy companies have been drawing takeover interest after declines in their stock prices.
KKR & Co. offered in March to acquire German renewable-power producer Encavis AG in a €2.8 billion deal. Energy Capital Partners and co-investors agreed to buy Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure Plc for about $2.6 billion earlier this week.
Founded in 2008, Neoen has grown into one of the largest independent producers of renewable energy, combining wind, solar and storage in more than a dozen countries, according to its website. The company has raised hundreds of millions of euros to fund its growth via a 2018 initial public offering and subsequent share sales.
Neoen was considering selling a 30% stake in its Australian unit to raise more than €1 billion to fund its growth in the country, Bloomberg News reported in March.
—With assistance from Vinicy Chan and Pamela Barbaglia.
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