PAG Commits $1B to Renewables, Completes Phase One of Japan Solar Acquisition

PAG today announced the completion of the first stage of the acquisition of a Japan solar energy business which the fund manager sees as the seed of a $1 billion pan-Asian investment in renewable energy.

As part of a deal first announced in May, funds managed by PAG have now acquired a utility-scale solar project development platform in Japan with 293 megawatts of direct current capacity from NASDAQ-listed photovoltaic producer First Solar.

Along with the platform acquisition, the majority of First Solar’s team in Japan will be joining PAG, which also today announced the formation of PAG Renewables, a new division dedicated to developing, building and investing in renewable energy in Asia.

“At PAG, sustainability is a core tenet of our investment philosophy and the transition to domestically-produced, clean energy in APAC will require an investment of trillions over the next decade. Investing in that transition is not only the right thing to do but a tremendous opportunity for PAG Renewables.” The fund manager said it expects to invest at least $1 billion through the new business in the next several years.

Adding Megawatts

PAG has described the First Solar Japan business as one of the country’s largest pipelines of solar projects, with the nearly 300 MW in capacity set to commence operations in the next two years.

During 2021, PAG had acquired two projects developed by First Solar in Japan with a total of 50 MW of DC capacity, which brought the fund manager’s total acquisitions from First Solar to 343 MW DC. In total, PAG now has one of Japan’s largest portfolios of solar farms with over 600 MW of capacity, with the most recent acquisition also including additional projects under development.

“With a dedicated focus on Asia and a track record of successfully investing more than $70 billion since its inception, PAG’s deep regional expertise, network, and synergies with real assets business provides a tremendous platform for growth,” said James Buford, president and CEO of PAG Renewables.

While PAG did not divulge financial details, the completed acquisition of First Solar’s project development platform is expected to be followed by completion of the acquisition of the operation and management business in the second half of this year. PAG’s Buford had formerly served as executive officer of First Solar in Japan before joining the fund manager as part of the takeover.

The NASDAQ-listed firm’s development and operations division in Japan will join PAG Real Assets’ team of over 150 real assets professionals across the region, forming the core members of PAG Renewables who will operate and manage the existing renewables portfolio.

PAG did not disclose other target markets for its renewables unit or details of its investment plans for the sector.

PAG Eyes HK IPO

The renewables venture comes roughly four months after PAG applied for a $2 billion initial public offering on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

The fund manager named Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley as joint sponsors and UBS as financial advisor in a deal that could value the company between $10 billion and $20 billion based on an account by Bloomberg.

Other tech-related ventures of the private equity firm include its entry into Asia Pacific’s digital infrastructure space late last year with the launch of its data centre arm Flow Digital Infrastructure unit led by industry veterans Kris Kumar and Amandine Wang.

In May, Flow announced that it had teamed up with Philippine property developer Ayala Land to develop a 4.5-megawatt data centre with additional facilities planned for roll-out across the country. PAG said at the time that it manages $2 billion in data centre assets in Asia Pacific.