(Bloomberg) — Buyout firm Ardian SAS is nearing a deal to acquire French renewable firm Akuo Energy SAS for about €1 billion ($1.1 billion), people familiar with the matter said.
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Ardian and the main owners of Akuo — its founders and Intermediate Capital Group — are finalizing details of a transaction, which could be announced in the coming days, the people said. A deal could value the renewable firm at as much as €2.3 billion including debt, one of the people said, asking not to be identified discussing confidential information.
Discussions are very advanced but could still be delayed or even fall apart, the people said. Representatives for Akuo, ICG and Ardian declined to comment.
In November, the French developer of solar and wind farms confirmed that its shareholders were in advanced discussions with Ardian to cede control of the company, following reports from Bloomberg and news website GreenUnivers. There’s no guarantee that the talks will lead to an agreement, Akuo said at the time.
Since then, Akuo has agreed to sell its small African operations to an investment arm of oil driller Perenco SA for an undisclosed amount.
Akuo needs funds to speed up projects in Europe and the US, President and co-founder Eric Scotto told Bloomberg News in 2023. The clean-power developer had €2.1 billion of assets on its balance sheet at the end of that year, according to its earnings report.
Clean-power developers have faced rising borrowing costs and supply-chain disruption in recent years, boosting funding needs for their capital-intensive projects. That’s underpinned dealmaking in the industry as investors bet on increasing demand for electricity from data centers and artificial intelligence-related sectors.
In February, Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec agreed to buy Innergex Renewable Energy Inc. in an all-cash deal that values it at about C$10 billion ($7 billion) including debt. In the same month, Brookfield Asset Management inked a $1.7 billion deal for National Grid Plc’s US onshore renewable business even as US President Donald Trump vowed to curb the growth of clean electricity.
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