Genex Power In Australia Receives A $220 Million Takeover Bid From A Tech Millionaire.

Australian renewable energy developer Genex Power (GNX.AX) has received an unsolicited A$319 million ($220 million) takeover offer from two private equity firms. This was led by Atlassian co-founder, Scott Farquhar.

The offer of 23 Australian cents a share was pitched at a 70% premium to Genex’s close. Its shares shot up 52% to a high of 20.5 cents after the announcement. The proposed bid, subject to due diligence, came from Farquhar’s Skip Essential Infrastructure Fund. Which Genex said now owns a 19.99% stake in the company, and Stonepeak Partners LLC.

However, the bid came as Australia’s Labor government pushes to speed up the transition to cleaner energy. Genex is building a pumped hydro energy storage project in Queensland. It recently raised A$40 million for a battery project. “We see strong promise in Genex’s portfolio,” Skip Capital Chief Executive Officer Kim Jackson said in a statement.

Skip and Stonepeak aim to help Genex’s current management build the company to play a “substantially larger role in Australia’s energy transition”, she said.
Genex has appointed Goldman Sachs as an advisor on the proposed deal.
–Reuters.