Norwegian renewable energy company Scatec has agreed to divest its 51% interest in the African hydropower joint venture (JV) with Norfund and British International Investment (BII) to TotalEnergies.
The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Scatec holds an indirect stake in the assets through its subsidiary SN Power.
The deal includes the operating 255MW Bujagali hydropower plant in Uganda. It also involves a development portfolio comprising the 361MW Mpatamanga project in Malawi and the 206MW Ruzizi III project, located at the border of Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and Burundi.
For the Mpatamanga project, Scatec along with EDF, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and the government of Malawi signed a binding commercial agreement in 2022. The agreement was inked under the public-private partnership framework of the East African country to co-develop the hydropower facility.
Following the closing of the deal between Scatec and TotalEnergies, the latter will get a 28.3% stake in the Bujagali hydropower plant.
Globally, TotalEnergies holds interests in several hydropower projects, totalling a gross capacity of 3.7GW.
This includes a capacity of 218MW installed in Europe, 1.5GW under development in Mozambique, and 2GW under development by Adani Green in India.
TotalEnergies chairman and CEO Patrick Pouyanné said: “This acquisition of renewable hydroelectric assets and projects in Africa reflects our desire to contribute to the continent’s energy transition by bringing electricity to the people of African countries.
“In particular, we are delighted to be able to become a player in hydro power in Uganda, a country where we are also developing a major oil project.”
The African hydropower JV was first established between Scatec and Norfund as part of the former’s acquisition of SN Power from the Norwegian Investment Fund in 2021. Subsequently, the JV added British International Investment as a co-investor in 2022.
Scatec intends to utilise the proceeds from the transaction with TotalEnergies to support its self-funded growth plan. Besides, the deal is expected to drive the business continuity of the hydropower activities in Africa, including commitments to projects and stakeholders.
Scatec CEO Terje Pilskog said: “Our decision to sell our African hydropower assets is in line with our strategy to focus the largest share of our investments in our core markets and on solar, wind and battery energy storage, while divesting assets in non-focus markets.
“We are pleased to announce today’s transaction, as we believe TotalEnergies will be a strong asset owner going forward, with the ability to further develop the projects and contribute to the energy transition in Africa.”
Subject to conditions and approvals being received from stakeholders including lenders and JV partners, the transaction is expected to be completed within the first half of 2025.
