Growing portfolio: French energy group TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanne arrives for a function at the Elysee palace in Paris. The company has been expanding its renewable energy portfolio even as some other European energy majors have slowed their pace. — AFP
PARIS: TotalEnergies SE is close to acquiring VSB Group from private equity firm Partners Group Holding AG in a deal that values the German renewable project developer at about €2bil (US$2.1bil), according to people familiar with the matter.
The French energy company and Partners Group are in advanced talks and could announce the transaction as soon as in the coming days, the people said.
A final agreement could still be delayed, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the information is private. Representatives for TotalEnergies and Partners Group declined to comment.
VSB Group offers services including project management and environmental planning in the renewable energy sector. Its projects span across solar, hydro and wind power in France, Germany, Poland and Italy. The company has more than 500 employees and 21 branch offices globally. Partners Group acquired an 80% stake in VSB Group in 2020.
Partners Group has been considering the sale of some of its infrastructure assets with a combined value of more than US$5bil as the Swiss buyout firm seeks to take advantage of investor appetite in the sector, Bloomberg News reported in March.
VSB Group is among the assets that Partners has been looking to divest, people familiar with the matter have said.
TotalEnergies has been expanding its renewable energy portfolio even as some other European energy majors have slowed their pace.
Last year, the company bought the remaining shares in French clean-power developer Total Eren for €1.5bil.
In Germany, TotalEnergies is doubling down on offshore wind as it sees prices being sustained over the long-term.
It agreed to acquire a 50% stake in two offshore wind projects from RWE AG last month after winning an auction alongside utility EnBW Energie Baden-Württemberg AG that raked in €3bil for the government earlier in the year. — Bloomberg
