The Australian renewable energy developer was offered a takeover amounting to $220 million, causing its stock to rise by 50%.
On Monday, Genex Power Ltd. in Australia received a $220 million takeover offer from Australian technology billionaire Scott Farquhar's investment firm Skip Capital and Stonepeak Partners LLC. The two companies proposed an offer of 23 Australian cents per share during a 0% premium to Genex Power's close last Friday.
As a result of the $220 million takeover bid by Farquhar, who co-founded Atlassian, Genex Power's shares rose up 52% at a high of 20.5 cents on Monday. This indicates that investors are not expecting a higher offer, Reuters reported.
"The Genex Board has not yet formed a view on the merits of the Indicative Proposal or any potential further engagement with the Consortium," Genex Power announced. Farquhar's Skip Essential Infrastructure Fund now owns a 19.99% stake in the Australian green energy company.
Australia's Tech Billionaires, Wealthy People Moving Into Green Energy Space
Australia is one of the world's biggest fossil fuel exporters and per-capita emitters, Bloomberg reported. Now, Farquhar joins many other Australian tech billionaires and wealthy entrepreneurs in investing in green energy. In fact, Atlassian's Mike Cannon-Brookes recently exerted his dominance in the board of Australia's top power producer AGL Energy, forcing the CEO to step down after opposition from the climate activist.
Cannon-Brookes hopes to move AGL Energy away from coal-sourced energy to more sustainable resources. Meanwhile, Australia's richest man Andrew Forrest pledged to become a major exporter of hydrogen from wind and solar energy.
Genex Power is also building a pumped hydro energy storage project in Queensland, where it also houses a solar farm. The green energy company recently raised more than $27 million for a battery project.
Skip Capital Chief Executive Officer Kim Jackson said in a statement that they see "strong promise in Genex's portfolio." Skip Capital and Stonepeak are looking to support Genex's current management to build a company that would play a "substantially larger role in Australia's energy transition," Jackson added.
What's Next for Genex Power?
Skip Capital and StoneStonepeak's #220 million takeover bid for Genex Power comes amidst Australian government's push to hasten the transition to cleaner energy, Nasdaq reported. The goal of Australia's Labor government is for the national electricity market to be mostly powered by renewable energy from wind and solar with 82% by 2030, an increase from just 30% today.
Genex Power is one of the few remaining large renewable energy developers listed in Sydney following takeovers of its rivals, such as Tilt Renewables Ltd., which was purchased for $2.1 billion in 2021. Genex's flagship project is the Kidston Clean Energy Hub, which integrates large-scale solar generation with pumped storage hydro and wind energy.
The company confirmed that its second quarter revenue was stronger than expected amidst the rise of electricity prices from the prior period. Genex's solar farms have also generated record-high revenue for its financial year and the company's first full year of positive operating cash flow.
