Infrastructure investor Actis has made its South Korean renewables debut with the acquisition of a solar energy platform.
Actis said it is investing up to $100m (€116.6m) to acquire Argo Energy, a company focused on the development of small utility-scale and rooftop solar.
Argo Energy, which currently has 110MW of solar projects already in operation or in advanced development, targets a contracted portfolio of over 400MW over the next few years.
Actis said the investment represents its first energy investment in South Korea and is part of Actis’s Asia climate strategy, which aims to accelerate the climate transition and reduce carbon emissions in the region.
The firm has a nearly ten-year track record in the South Korean market, having invested in real estate and greenfield development projects.
The acquisition of Argo Energy is also in line with Actis’s strategy of investing in renewable energy platforms across Asia, and follows the launch of Nozomi Energy in Japan last year as well as investments into BluPine Energy in India and Levanta Renewables in Vietnam in 2022.
Asanka Rodrigo a partner in the energy infrastructure team at Actis, said: “It’s an exciting time to be investing in Korean renewables. Korea is an energy intensive industrialised economy and needs to ramp up its renewable power generation to meet its target to get to net zero by 2050.
”Our investment will help Argo Energy scale up and become a significant player in the small utility scale solar market.”
Tareq Sirhan, the head of energy for North Asia in the energy infrastructure unit at Actis, said: “Actis operates at the intersection of one of the largest global investment opportunities, sustainable infrastructure, and it’s terrific we’re expanding into the energy sector in Korea, building on the synergies from our real estate investments in the country to back a dynamic renewables platform in Argo Energy ready to take on the market.
“The investment represents yet another example of Actis ramping up its renewables investments across Asia.”
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