Genex agrees to billion dollar takeover offer from Japanese partner

Genex Power, Australia’s only remaining listed renewables and storage developer, says it has agreed to a takeover offer from Japanese parter J-Power that values its equity at $380 million and more than $1 billion on an enterprise value basis.

Genex is currently building the 250 MW, eight hour Kidson pumped hydro project, that will be the first to be built in Australia in four decades, and the first by a private company.

It also owns the Bouldercome battery and two 50 MW solar farms, and has big plans to add wind power to its Kidston energy hub, and develop a massive solar and storage project of up to 2 GW at Bulli Creek.

The bid is pitched at 27.5 cents a share, if it is approved through a scheme of arrangement that must be voted on by shareholders, or an alternative 27 cents a share through an on market offer if the scheme is rejected.

That is about a 10 per cent premium to the offer made by Scott Farquhar’s Skip Capital last year, that ended up being rejected.

The emergence of the J-Power bid might have seemed inevitable since it was likely providing the bulk of the funds for some of Genex’ major expansion projects, including the 2 GW Bulli Creek solar and battery project in south Queensland, and the 258 MW wind extension to the Kidston pumped hydro project in the north of the state.

J-Power already holds a 7.72 per cent stake in Genex and has provided it with a $35 million loan. The bid is subject to a number of regulatory and shareholder approvals, but if the scheme goes ahead, it should be complete by mid July.