Brookfield Asset Management Buys Into Australian Energy
Posted on 04/05/2023
Canada’s Brookfield Asset Management has allocated AU$ 15.35 billion for a plan to replace Origin Energy’s Australian power with green energy. Origin Energy agreed to be acquired by Brookfield in a major private equity buyout for the country. Singapore’s GIC and Temasek are co-investors. Origin has been operating with coal and gas to date. Brookfield Asia Pacific CEO Stewart Upson said: “Our plan is to invest a further AU$ 20 billion of capital to fully replace its power generation and its power purchases with green power that meets all of its customers requirements, and we propose to do that over a 10 year period.”
The deal won’t be finalized until sometime next year, and it has been a slow process throughout. Upson commented “We had to take our time to assess all the different developments and make sure that we are comfortable.”
GIC Buying Japan
GIC is fresh off another investment of Japanese-focused software company WHI Holdings, owned by Bain Capital. The deal cost GIC US$ 2.6 billion. This will give GIC access to an established cloud-based software as a service (Saas) technology company. Its product is used at over 1,200 businesses. Yuji Sugimoto, Co-head of Asia Private Equity at Bain, was enthusiastic: “WHI has continued to elevate its compelling value proposition by helping workforces across Japan collaborate smarter and more effectively, and adapt seamlessly to a variety of work environments. We’re extremely proud of their growth to date ,and look forward to continuing to partner with senior management and GIC to bring their innovative solutions to customers across Japan and Asia.” GIC has been on a buying spree in Japan, acquiring in the last year hotels, stores, and a shopping mall in Fukuoka Prefecture.
