Private equity giant KKR (KKR.US) acquires Australian off-grid power systems provider Zenith Energy

The Zhitong Finance App learned that private equity giant KKR (KKR.US) has agreed to acquire Australian off-grid power system supplier Zenith Energy from institutions such as Pacific Equity Partners Pty Ltd., OPSEU Pension Trust, and Foresight Group Holdings Ltd.

The price of this deal has not been disclosed. However, KKR said in a statement that the acquisition was carried out after Zenith completed refinancing of 1.9 billion Australian dollars (about 1.2 billion US dollars), which provided the company with more than 1 billion Australian dollars in capital to support the development of new projects. KKR will complete this investment through its Asia Pacific Infrastructure Investors Phase II Fund. However, according to two people close to the deal, KKR paid 1.7 billion Australian dollars, and the transaction price was equivalent to 12 times its contract revenue.

According to reports, Zenith has now signed contracts with resource industry customers and urban microgrids for more than 710 megawatts of capacity. The company is headquartered in Perth, and its CEO Hamish Moffat said the company is helping the Australian mining industry accelerate the pace of reducing carbon emissions.

Andrew Jennings, head of infrastructure and managing director at KKR Australia and New Zealand, said: “Zenith has established its leading position in deploying and managing hybrid power solutions in Australia, which is KKR's key market in the Asia Pacific region. Zenith's position at the cutting edge of the energy transition, combined with long-standing relationships with strategic, high-quality partners, makes it an ideal investment target for our Asia Pacific infrastructure platform.”