Renewables giant Equis bags US$1.25b from management and Abu Dhabi, Canada funds

SINGAPORE-BASED renewable energy and waste infrastructure developer Equis Development has raised US$1.25 billion in capital funding from a wholly-owned subsidiary of Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board and the Equis management team.

ADIA invests funds on behalf of the Abu Dhabi government, while Toronto-based Ontario Teachers' is the administrator of Canada's largest single-profession pension plan.

The amount raised will provide Equis Development with funding for all its operational and investment activities, secure assets and invest in its existing portfolio, it told The Business Times on Thursday.

It added that it will primarily focus on investing in three sectors - renewable energy and hybrid renewable energy generation assets, biomass generation assets, as well as waste recycling and repurpose infrastructure assets.

Equis Development managing director Lance Comes said the firm plans to commit over US$2 billion into renewable energy and waste infrastructure assets across Australia, Japan and South Korea over the next two years. It is developing or constructing 40 assets across these markets.

It is rapidly expanding its management team of over 60 engineering, investment and development professionals to ensure its success, he said in a press statement on Thursday.

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Equis Development finances and is responsible for every stage of an asset's lifecycle from origination, procurement, construction, engineering and development through to operations and maintenance, asset management and performance optimisation.

Ben Chan, Ontario Teachers' regional managing director of Asia-Pacific, said: "We believe this investment will help us build scale in Asia and grow our exposure to renewables."

Khadem Al Remeithi, ADIA executive director of the real estate and infrastructure department, said: "We believe there is a significant opportunity to support the growth of renewable energy infrastructure in Asia-Pacific."

Credit Suisse was the exclusive financial adviser to the Ontario Teachers' and ADIA consortium for the transaction.

READ MORE: Equis buys South Korean solar, battery storage project; eyes US$2b in investments