Increased stake in Cleantech’s asset company will accelerate Keppel’s plans to grow its renewable business

Following the announcement on 13 December 2021, where Keppel Corporation Limited (Keppel Corporation), Keppel Asia Infrastructure Fund LP (KAIF) and a co-investor of KAIF (collectively, the Partners) announced that they were acquiring a 51% stake in Cleantech Renewable Assets Pte Ltd (CRA or Cleantech), which owns 50% of Cleantech Solar Asia Pte Ltd (CSA), the Partners are happy to announce that they are now also directly acquiring the remaining 50% interest in CSA for US$115 million[1]. This will bring their collective effective stake in CSA, CRA’s asset company, from 25.5% to 75.5%, post transaction.

Headquartered in Singapore, CRA is a leading solar energy platform focused on the commercial and industrial (C&I) segment. CSA, the asset company under CRA, currently has a total capacity of over 600 MW across various stages of operations, construction, and development, with its assets located across India and six countries in Southeast Asia (Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia, Singapore and Vietnam). In addition, CRA has a strong development pipeline and is targeting to grow its asset portfolio to more than 2.5 GW by 2026.

Mr Loh Chin Hua, CEO of Keppel Corporation, said, “The increased stake in Cleantech’s solar asset portfolio is testament to Keppel’s commitment to grow our renewables business as part of Vision 2030. Increasing our additional stake in Cleantech’s solar assets, through the acquisition of our stake in CSA, will also increase the Keppel Group’s exposure to Cleantech’s growing solar business and in turn strengthen the ability to create collaboration and synergy opportunities with the rest of the Keppel Group.”

KAIF is managed by Keppel Capital Alternative Asset Pte. Ltd., a private fund manager under Keppel Capital. Launched in January 2020, the KAIF Partnership and its co-investment vehicles have aggregate commitments of approximately US$1 billion from global institutional investors. KAIF achieved its final close in 2021. Building on the Keppel Group’s collective strengths and ability to create quality investments that are highly sought after by global investors, KAIF is uniquely positioned to invest in critical infrastructure assets which provide essential services.

The investment in CRA and CSA mark KAIF’s first renewable energy investment and will form its beachhead into the burgeoning solar energy sector in Asia Pacific. The fund, together with its co-investment vehicles, also has a 30% interest in the Gimi floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) facility, which is currently undergoing conversion at Keppel Offshore & Marine.

Completion of the acquisition of 50% stake in CSA is subject to completion of the CRA Transaction and certain other customary conditions including regulatory and other approvals. The transaction is expected to close in 1H 2022.

The above-mentioned transaction is not expected to have any material impact on the earnings per share and net tangible asset per share of Keppel Corporation for the financial year ending 31 December 2022.

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