Gas Natural, AES and Statkraft to bid for Pacific Hydro’s assets

Sources said last week that Spanish gas distributor Gas Natural, U.S.-based AES Corporation and Norwegian state power generator Statkraft AS were planning to submit final bids for Pacific Hydro’s Latin American renewable energy assets.

Same sources said buyout firm Pacific Equity Partners was planning to submit a binding bid for the company’s Australian projects.

All the assets may fetch more than A$2 billion ($1.5 billion) combined. Australian infrastructure investor, IFM Investors, which invests money for Australian pension funds, started this year a process to sell Pacific Hydro, which owns 19 assets (hydropower and wind) in Australia, Chile and Brazil. Pacific Hydro expects to have a 2015 EBITDA of around A$175 million. IFM owns the company through its IFM Australian Infrastructure Fund.

Bank of America and Credit Suisse are advising IFM Investors on the sale process.

It's not clear whether IFM will sell Pacific Hydro’s Latin American and Australian operations separately or the combined sale is still a possibility.

Gas Natural is Spain’s third-largest gas and power company by market value and has more than 20 million customers in 25 nations, including Chile and Brazil. The company bought last year Chilean power producer Cia. General de Electricidad SA.

Statkraft, Europe’s largest renewable energy generator, operates in more than 20 countries including Brazil. It owns half of Pacific Hydro’s La Higuera and La Confluencia hydro plants in Chile.

AES, based in Arlington, Virginia, has a Chilean unit that generates more than 5,000 megawatts from coal, gas and hydro.