Wednesday 20 January 2021

Aker ASA (“Aker”) announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Aker Horizons AS (“Aker Horizons”), has agreed to acquire 75 percent of Mainstream Renewable Power (“Mainstream”), a leading independent renewable energy company within onshore and offshore wind and solar (the “Transaction”). The Transaction values the current equity of Mainstream at EUR 900 million on a 100 percent basis and gives Aker Horizons a portfolio of projects in operation and under construction of about 1.4 GW, a project development pipeline of about 10 GW and a further 10 GW of identified project opportunities.

“Aker made a step change in the last year, taking a position within renewable energy production, green technologies, digitalization and other mega trends that have seen accelerating flow of resources and capital, not just in Aker, but in global markets. Combining Mainstream’s global organization and renewable assets with Aker’s 180-year track record of building and developing industrial companies is another step in line with our long-term strategy for value creation and to position Aker Horizons for significant and sustainable growth in renewable energy markets,” says Øyvind Eriksen, President and CEO of Aker ASA and Chairman of Aker Horizons.

Aker Horizons is Aker’s investment platform dedicated to investing in, incubating and developing companies within renewable energy and decarbonization technologies. The company will leverage the deep domain expertise in the Aker ecosystem, including within software and industrial digitalization. Aker Horizons’ ambition is to develop companies with a total capacity of 10 GW and remove the equivalent of 25 million tonnes CO2 per year by 2025.

“We are thrilled to partner with Mainstream as we accelerate our journey of what we call planet-positive investing. Mainstream’s role as a pioneer in renewables and its strong entrepreneurial culture is a good fit as we carve out our path forward in the energy transition. Through the acquisition of Mainstream, Aker Horizons will gain a platform to drive forward its renewable energy ambitions and position itself in a growing market for hybrid projects,” says Kristian Røkke, Chief Executive Officer of Aker Horizons.

“We are delighted to have such a highly respected business as Aker Horizons on board, enabling Mainstream to materially accelerate its growth plans to deliver a global portfolio of wind and solar assets. We plan to bring 5.5 GW of renewable assets to financial close globally by 2023, which sets us firmly on track to becoming one of the world’s first pure-play renewable energy majors,” says Mary Quaney, Chief Executive Officer of Mainstream Renewable Power.

In addition to the acquisition of Mainstream, Aker Horizons has ambitious investment targets and is currently in the process of preparing for a near-term private placement and a listing on Euronext Growth (the “IPO”) with a subsequent transfer of the listing to Oslo Børs within 12 months.

ABG Sundal Collier, DNB Markets, a part of DNB Bank ASA, Nordea Bank Abp’s Norway branch and Pareto Securities AS have been engaged to assist on the potential IPO of Aker Horizons which is subject to inter alia market conditions and investor feedback. Advokatfirmaet BAHR acts as legal advisor for the potential IPO.