One of the wealthiest people in Australia has joined a number of his peers in investing in renewable energy.
The Sydney-based developer of renewable energy announced Monday that Scott Farquhar, an Australian technology millionaire, and Stonepeak Partners LLC made a takeover offer to Genex Power Ltd. The co-chief executive officer of Atlassian Corp. and his wife Kim Jackson created Skip Capital, and Stonepeak suggested an indicative purchase price at a 70% premium to Friday’s closing price.
With Farquhar’s decision, Australia, one of the major exporters of fossil fuels and the country with the highest per-capita emissions, has more billionaires betting on the country’s shift to green energy.
In an effort to wean AGL Energy Ltd. off coal-fired production, his Atlassian partner Mike Cannon-Brookes recently removed half of the board; in contrast, the country’s richest man Andrew Forrest has committed to become a significant exporter of hydrogen produced by wind and solar.
After taking over rivals and selling Tilt Renewables Ltd. for a staggering amount of money last year, Genex is one of the few significant renewable energy firms still listed in Sydney. According to a statement released on Monday, the partnership between Skip and Stonepeak bid A$0.23 per share for Genex, valuing the business at A$318.6 million ($220 million).
The Skip Essential Infrastructure Fund has also accrued a 19.99% stake in Genex, according to the company, which confirmed the offer in its own statement.
The company’s shares closed last week’s trading at $0.135 per share, more than 30% below the price at when they debuted in July 2015.
In Sydney trade, Genex shares increased by 44%, marking their largest single-day rise since March 2020.
According to the developer’s website, the Kidston Clean Energy Hub, a project that would mix large-scale solar power with pumped storage hydro and wind energy, is located in the country’s north. 100 megawatts of solar power are now being produced there, while 450 megawatts of hydro, wind, and battery power are being built.
In addition, Genex reported on Monday that sales for the three months ending in June were higher than expected due to an increase in electricity prices of more than twofold.
It also reported record-high revenue from its solar farms for its financial year and its first full year of positive operating cash flow.
