Cork solar power company Amarenco raises €150m

Cork-based solar power company Amarenco Group has raised €150 million which it says it will use to convert its current pipeline of mergers and acquisitions (M&As) into "value-generating assets" in its international hubs.

Tikehau Capital, an asset management and investment group, contributed significantly to the capital increase, becoming a key shareholder of the company.

Amarenco started a capital raising process at the beginning of the year to secure a total investment capacity of €3 billion to fund its growth in Europe, Asia Pacific and the Middle East markets whilst maintaining its status as an independent, founder-led company.

This money raised combines a share capital increase and an equity line totalling €150 million. The capital raise was subscribed to by the co-founders themselves, by IDIA Capital Investissement and by Tikehau Capital through its energy transition fund.

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Amarenco said it was well placed and funded to convert its “significant current pipeline and M&A deal flow into value-generating assets from its global headquarters in Cork, Ireland, and its operational hubs”.

Its operational hubs are in Lagrave (France), Porto (Portugal), Vienna (Austria), Muscat (Oman), Singapore, Taipei (Taiwan), Bangkok (Thailand), Hanoi (Vietnam), and Tokyo (Japan).

Growth strategy

Amarenco expects to have more than one gigawatt (1GW) of projects under construction during 2021 as a result of its M&A activity in Iberia and Asia-Pacific, and the maturity of its development pipeline in Oman.

It said it also intends to accelerate its growth strategy taking a “flexible approach” to partnering with local and regional developers, asset owners and independent power producers in order to differentiate itself in its chosen markets.

“This new capital commitment will contribute to Amarenco’s ambitions to have more than 1GW of projects under construction in the coming months and 3GW by 2023 in Europe, APAC and Middle East,” said co-founders Olivier Carré, Nick Howard, John Mullins and Alain Desvigne.

“We have no doubt that the entrepreneurial spirit of Tikehau Capital and its international network will contribute to the achievement of our goals. We are happy to welcome Pierre Devillard and Pierre Abadie from the private equity team of Tikehau Capital to our board.”