Dublin-based Mainstream Renewable Power, a company that provides project design and management services for renewable and alternative energies, announced that it has raised €575M from Mitsui & Co., Ltd. in the form of new common shares. This will translate to a 27.5 per cent equity stake in the company.
With this, the company is now valued at approximately €2.1B. The deal is expected to be completed in April, 2022.
Mary Quaney, Group Chief Executive of Mainstream, says, “There has never been a more critical time in the history of our planet to accelerate the global transition to renewable energy. Today’s transformational announcement reinforces Mainstream’s leadership position in the global race to net-zero, as well as enabling nations to rapidly reduce their dependence on oil and gas imports through the large-scale deployment of renewables.”
The Investor
Mitsui & Co., Ltd. will take a long-term active role in the growth of the company. Aker Horizons, which acquired a 75 per cent stake in Mainstream in January, 2021, will now own 54.4 per cent of Mainstream following the transaction. Mainstream’s founder, Eddie O’Connor, along with Irish retail investors will hold the remaining 18.1 per cent.
Kazumasa Nakai, COO of Mitsui, says, “We are delighted to participate in Mainstream jointly with Aker Horizons to boost growth and expansion of development and construction/operation activities of Mainstream, by leveraging our global business networks with customers across industries and its wide-ranged industrial capabilities, including deep expertise in the global power sector.”
“We are convinced that the participation in Mainstream will further strengthen the strategic partnership between the Aker Group and Mitsui, driving forward our renewable energy transition and greenhouse gas reduction in response to global climate change,” adds Nakai.
Mitsui, Aker Horizons and Mainstream intend to continue developing Mainstream towards an initial public offering.
Mitsui, Aker Horizons, Mainstream – why the partnership?
Mitsui, Aker Horizons and Mainstream are on a mission to promote and develop strong business clusters in the renewable energy space, building on years of ‘successful’ cooperation between Mitsui and the Aker group.
According to a statement, Mitsui’s investment in Mainstream will strengthen the strategic partnership between the two industrial groups, and enable them to collaborate in new business areas such as energy trading, energy management, battery storage, as well as green hydrogen and ammonia.
Mainstream’s Mary Quaney says, “We are delighted to welcome Mitsui as our new strategic partner alongside Aker Horizons. Together we are fully focused on expediting our ambitious growth plans and leveraging our collective expertise and resources to transform Mainstream into a global renewable energy major this decade.”
Global wind and solar company
Founded in 2008 by Eddie Connor, Mainstream Renewable Power is a pure-play renewable energy company that develops, builds and operates wind and solar generation assets across global markets, including in Latin America, Africa and Asia-Pacific.
The company claims to be one of the successful developers of gigawatt-scale renewables platforms across onshore wind, offshore wind and solar power generation, having delivered 6.5 GW of assets to financial close-ready including the Hornsea zone, the world’s largest offshore wind farm in operation today.
Recent growth and developments
Since Aker Horizons acquired its stake in Mainstream, the company has delivered material operational progress, including:
- Advancing the construction of its wholly-owned 1.4 GW Andes Renovables wind and solar generation platform in Chile which is on track to be fully operational next year
- Increasing its global portfolio by 5.2 GW, bringing it to 16.6 GW
- Obtaining preferred bidder status for 1.27 GW of wind and solar projects in South Africa
- Launching the 1 GW Nazca Renovables platform in Chile, including the signing of a private PPA with a strategic partner
- Securing an investment decision from regional authorities for the first 200 MW of the 1.4 GW Phu Cuong Soc Trang offshore wind project in Vietnam
- Acquiring an initial 50 per cent ownership stake in an 800 MW floating offshore wind project in Japan, alongside Aker Offshore Wind
- Completing the planned divestment of Chilean power producer Aela Energia, Chile’s largest independent producer of renewable energy, for $686M, and progressing the divestment of one of Africa’s power producers, Lekela Power, with targeted completion by the end of this year
About the Mainstream Renewable Power’s investors
Mitsui & Co., Ltd. is a Japanese general trading and investment firm established in 1947. The firm aims to pursue sustainable growth and contribute to the development of countries and regions around the world through its business activities while addressing climate change and other global issues.
As part of this, Mitsui has set a target to reduce GHG impact by 2030 to half of what it was in 2020 and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. Mitsui currently has 65 power assets in 22 countries, with a gross capacity of 39.6GW and net capacity (Mitsui’s share) of 10.8GW.
Aker Horizons ASA is a planet-positive investment company dedicated to developing companies within renewable energy and other technologies that reduce emissions or promote sustainable living. The company is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange and is majority-owned by Aker ASA. Aker Horizons’ investment portfolio includes holdings in Aker Clean Hydrogen, Aker Offshore Wind, Aker Carbon Capture, and Mainstream Renewable Power.
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