Scatec to trim stakes in 190-MW South African solar trio

Renewable power producer Scatec ASA (OSL:SCATC) unveiled today an agreement to sell a portion of its shareholdings in a 190-MW solar portfolio in South Africa for ZAR 921 million (USD 50.6m/EUR 46.9m).

The deal is the latest in a string of divestments in Africa announced over the past few days.

The portfolio in South Africa comprises three operational facilities -- the Kalkbult and Dreunberg solar farms of 75 MW each and the 40-MW Linde site. The buyer of the minority shareholdings is a unit of South African investment firm STANLIB.

Upon completion of the deal, which will be carried out in two stages, Scatec will reduce its shareholding in Kalkbult to about 13% from currently 46%, while its 44% ownership in Linde and Dreunberg will be cut to 12%.

Kalkbult and Linde are located in the Northern Cape, while Dreunberg is situated in the Eastern Cape. The three facilities were commissioned in 2014 and each of them has a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with local utility Eskom.

“This transaction signifies continued implementation of our strategy to recycle capital into new investments in renewable energy,” Scatec’s CEO Terje Pilskog noted in the press statement.

A day earlier, Scatec announced that it has completed the sale of its 54% stake in an 8.5-MW solar farm in Rwanda and ceased all operations in the Central African country. On Tuesday, the Norwegian company signed a deal to sell its majority stake in an African hydropower joint venture with 255 MW of operational capacity and a 567 MW development pipeline.

(ZAR 10 = USD 0.550/EUR 0.510)

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