PwC: Strong global interest in Australia’s power & renewables sector

By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com

According to the PwC annual Power & Renewables Deals 2013 Outlook and 2012 Review, Australia, Europe and South America are the most attractive targets for global power companies seeking growth.According to PwC Australia’s Energy, Utilities and Mining leader Jock O’Callaghan, underlying impetus for the renewable energy market will come from the need for local players to meet the Large-Scale Renewable Energy Target (LRET) of 41,000 Gwh from 2020.

“The fact the LRET was recently reconfirmed has helped boost investor confidence in the industry,” Mr O’Callaghan said. “In order to meet the target companies need to either develop new capacity, secure new off-take arrangements or tackle it through mergers and acquisitions.
We expect that the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, which is open for business and has $10 billion to invest in the sector, will provide a critical role in attracting further investment in the sector.”

Power and renewables target and bidder value from the Asia Pacific region has trebled as a share of annual global sector M&A compared with the same time a year ago. Power and renewables deal flow in the Asia Pacific has again bucked the global trend with deal numbers and values in the past six months continuing to rise from their 2011 lows. Transactions totalling $US17 billion were announced in the region in the second half of 2012, up 45 per cent on the same time a year before according to PwC.