Australian firm Alinta Energy has entered into an agreement with Hong Kong-based company Chow Tai Fook (CTFE) to sell the company for A$4bn ($3.1bn).
The Hong Kong company already has stakes in Australian real estate and integrated resorts, but the acquisition marks CTFE’s entry into Australian energy market.
Though the deal amount has not been disclosed officially by either of the parties, the price is more than the valuation sought by Alinta's onwers in an initial public offeriing for the company, South China Morning Post reported, citing several sources.
The deal is subject to regulatory approvals. The process to receive approval from the Foreign Investment Review Board has already begun.
CTFE, which is owned and controlled by Dato’ Dr. Cheng Yu Tung’s family, has investments in over 50 countries spreading across Asia, Europe and The Americas.
The firm has confirmed that Jeff Dimery will continue with his role as Alinta’s CEO and the existing senior management team will also retained.
CTFE has indicated the acquisition is highly strategic.
Alinta is a company owned by private equity and hedge funds including TPG Capital. It is based in Sydney and operates power plants with a total capacity of more than 1.9GW in Australia and New Zealand.
Most of these power plant assets include gas-fired power generation and gas pipeline transmission in Western Australia. It also retails electricity to about 800,000 customers in the states of Victoria and South Australia.