Canadian Pension Funds Ready €7 Billion Sale of Cubico

(Bloomberg) -- Canada’s Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and PSP Investments are about to kick off the sale of renewable energy company Cubico Sustainable Investments, according to people with knowledge of the matter. 

The two pension funds are working with Bank of America Corp. and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce on a potential transaction, the people said. The owners are considering seeking a valuation of €7 billion ($7.6 billion) or more for London-based Cubico, the people said. They are prioritizing a full divestment, although some potential bidders could be interested in only some of the assets, the people said, asking not to be identified as the plan isn’t public.

Cubico operates clean-energy assets in Spain, Italy, Greece, the UK, the US, Mexico, Uruguay, Colombia and Australia. The company will likely draw interest of large sovereign wealth funds, one of the people said. A formal process could start within weeks, according to the people.

Deliberations are ongoing and details could still change, the people said. Representatives for OTPP, PSP, Bank of America and CIBC declined to comment, while Cubico didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Renewable energy companies have attracted strong interest from investors who are seeking more exposure into the sector amid the push for greener sources of power. Brookfield is seeking to acquire a majority stake in Neoen SA with a view to launch a takeover offer that would value the French renewable energy developer at about €6.1 billion. KKR & Co. offered in March to acquire German renewable-power producer Encavis AG in a €2.8 billion deal.

Cubico was launched in 2015 by the current owners alongside Spain’s largest lender, Banco Santander SA, which sold its stake a year later. The company operates different technologies, including onshore wind, solar, batteries and transmission lines, according to its website. Its asset portfolio has 2.8 gigawatts of installed capacity in total, plus 450 megawatts under construction and a development pipeline of over 17 gigawatts. Cubico has more than 500 employees globally.

--With assistance from Paula Sambo.

(Adds Cubico’s number of employees globally in last paragraph.)

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