ISSUE 2 | 2022
64
MAJOR DEALS INQ1 2022 For several regions across the world, Energy, Mining & Utilities deals represented a significant number of the Top 20 deals by value: • Central and Eastern European countries – six of the Top 20. • Latin America – four of the Top 20 • Africa – four of the Top 20. On the other side of the coin, none of India’s or Greater China’s Top 20 deals took place in the Energy, Mining & Utilities sector. The breakdown of deals within the overall Energy, Mining & Utilities sector also presents an interesting picture with renewable energy continuing to be a prominent driver in the major deals taking place globally. RENEWABLES DEALS The Nordics, Southern Europe, Latin America, South East Asia and Japan regions all had renewables transactions featuring in their Top 20 deals. The highest value mid-market renewables deal in the first quarter of 2022 was the acquisition by UK-based Renewable Power Capital Ltd of the Swedish company OX2 Group AB (owner of a wind farm project). The Norwegian company Aker Horizon AS’s acquisition of a 48.98% holding in Aker Offshore Wind Holding AS (also Norway- based) represented another significant wind energy deal. In Southern Europe, the third largest Energy, Mining & Utilities quarterly deal was the acquisition by Italy’s Green Arrow Capital SGR SpA of a portfolio of solar energy projects in Spain from Progressum Energy Developments S.L. for USD 452m. In South East Asia, there were two solar power deals in the Top 20: the acquisition by Philippines-based AC Energy Corporation of a 49% stake in Superenergy PCL, which operates nine solar plants across Vietnam and the acquisition by an Australian-based consortium of the Sun Cable project, which involves the
construction of a solar array in Australia’s Northern Territory to transmit solar energy to Singapore. The impetus for renewables transactions may well be the desire of many entities to pursue the energy transition from fossil-based fuels to renewable energy sources. Companies will see this as helping with the green push and also as a means of addressing the increasingly important ESG imperatives. OIL AND GAS DEALS Oil and gas deals were the only Energy, Mining & Utilities deals in the Top 20 for the quarter in the UK & Ireland, North America and Israel regions. It appears that activity in this sub-category reflects a rationalisation of what has long been a fragmented sector. In the UK & Ireland, the fifth largest deal by value was the acquisition of UK-based Trident Energy Management Limited (focused on oil and gas properties in Africa and Latin America) by the US company Quantum Energy Partners. In the North America region there were three oil and gas deals, each with a deal value over USD 400m. In two of these deals the assets are located in the US and in the third they are in British Columbia, Canada. The two oil and gas deals in Israel both related to Israel-based exploration, development and production assets. MINING There continued to be some activity in the mining sector with gold, copper and lithium deals all recorded in the first quarter of 2022. This appears to be a base level of activity in the sub-sector rather than representing a push for any particular resources or locations. The largest mining deal in the quarter was the acquisition by US-based Newmont Goldcorp Corporation of a 43.65% stake in Peru-based gold explorer Minera Yanacoocha S.R.L.
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