New Energy Solar to leave Aussie market with 167-MW sale

Australia’s New Energy Solar Ltd (ASX:NEW) will exit its home market through a 167-MW DC asset sale in New South Wales and then focus its business entirely on the US market, it announced today.

The New South Wales-based solar farms investor and operator said in a bourse filing it has signed binding agreements to offload its 111-MW Beryl and 56-MW Manildra solar farms in to the Aussie arm of Thai energy group Banpu PCL (BKK:BANPU) for AUD 288 million gross. The move follows New Energy Solar’s plan to cut the gap between its net asset value and its trading price.

The seller expects to get AUD 105.4 million in gross equity proceeds from the deal. The company noted that it has lowered the value of the assets due to transmission hurdles but said it managed to secure a price above its new net asset value for Beryl. The price for Manildra, meanwhile, is 20% lower due to the impact of ongoing transmission constraints.

As of end-December, the Beryl and Manildra plants had net asset values of AUD 60 million and AUD 50.5 million, respectively.

Following the divestment, New Energy Solar will operate solely in the US, where utility-scale solar deployments are expected to reach a new high in 2021 thanks to state support mechanisms for renewable energy projects.

The sale is subject to regulatory clearance by the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) and is due to be completed within two months.

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