Friday, March 29

RWE to Buy Con Edison Clean Energy Unit for $6.8 Billion


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(Bloomberg) — German utility RWE AG agreed to buy Consolidated Edison Inc.’s renewable energy assets for $6.8 billion, in one of the biggest green deals in US history.

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The deal will almost double RWE’s renewables portfolio in the US to more than 7 gigawatts, the company said in a statement. The financing will initially be provided by a bridge loan, which will be partly refinanced by a convertible bond to a subsidiary of Qatar Investment Authority with an aggregate principal amount of 2,427.6 million euros.

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The deal “is a major boost for RWE’s green expansion in the United States, one of the most attractive and fastest growing markets for renewable energy,” chief executive officer Markus Krebber said in a statement.

RWE has been benefitting from the market turmoil in Europe’s power and gas markets since Russia waged war on Ukraine. The German utility raised its earnings outlook for the year to reflect expectations 30% higher than a previous forecast. The company had earmarked up to 15 billion euros for investment in the US as part of its Growing Green strategy, which envisages global investment of 50 billion euros by 2030.

Con Edison has a market value of about $30.4 billion. The company announced in February it was exploring strategic alternatives for the clean-power business.



financialpost.com