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Boralex builds and operates renewable energy sites, including onshore wind, solar, hydroelectricity and energy storage
By Mathieu Dion, Dinesh Nair and Paula Sambo
Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. and Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec have agreed a deal to acquire Canadian renewable energy firm Boralex Inc. for $9 billion including debt.
The buyers will pay $37.25 in cash per share for Boralex, according to a statement Wednesday that confirmed a Bloomberg News report that the company was considering a sale.
That offer represents a 32 per cent premium to Boralex’s closing price on March 20 — the last full day of trading before the Bloomberg story.
Boralex shares gained more than 10 per cent to $36.50 in early Toronto trading.
The company builds and operates renewable energy production sites in Canada, the United States, France and the United Kingdom. It currently has about 3,800 megawatts of onshore wind, solar, hydroelectricity and energy storage assets.
Its shares have declined along with other renewable-energy players due to a combination of supply constraints, cost inflation, elevated interest rates and U.S. President Donald Trump’s campaign against clean energy projects, particularly wind. The price being offered by Brookfield and La Caisse is about 33 per cent below where the stock was in early 2021.
The deal “brings in the right long-term partners for Boralex as we enter an accelerated growth phase requiring significant capital deployment and financial flexibility,” chief executive Patrick Decostre said in the statement.
In June, the company announced plans to invest as much as $6.8 billion to more than double its output. It has a pipeline of 1,600 megawatts of advanced-stage development projects, and an additional 5,600 megawatts of mid- and early-stage projects.
La Caisse is already Boralex’s largest shareholder with a 15 per cent stake, and will increase its ownership to 30 per cent. Brookfield will control the remaining 70 per cent.
Brookfield has been deploying increasing amounts of money in clean energy in recent years, including via deals for companies such as the French renewable energy developer Neoen.
A year ago, La Caisse agreed to take private Innergex Renewable Energy, Boralex’s biggest local rival, in a transaction worth about $10 billion including debt.
National Bank of Canada and Royal Bank of Canada acted as financial advisers for Boralex.
Bloomberg.com
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