Engie Brasil buys solar farms from GIP in $646 million deal

SAO PAULO (Reuters) -Power company Engie Brasil Energia said on Monday it has agreed to buy five operating photovoltaic power stations in Brazil from Atlas Renewable Energy, a company owned by investment fund Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP).

The deal for the solar farms totaling an installed capacity of 545 megawatts (MWac) was valued at about 3.24 billion reais ($646.04 million), Engie Brasil said in a securities filing, including Atlas' net debt of 971 million reais.

The company, which is controlled by French energy giant Engie, said the deal is likely to positively affect its EBITDA margins in the long term as it already has contracted power with "compatible returns".

"The acquisition of operating assets, with contracted energy, has become an attractive option for efficiently expanding our businesses at this time in the market," Chief Financial Officer Eduardo Takamori said.

In a separate statement, Atlas said it would look to reinvest the money coming from the deal to develop new renewable projects in Brazil, noting that it will still hold 1.8 gigawatts of installed capacity in the country following the transaction.

That includes two solar parks under development in Minas Gerais state and two other operating projects, according to the company, which dubbed the transaction with Engie Brasil an "asset rotation".

"Atlas is growing significantly in Brazil ... and the country continues to be one of its top markets," country manager Fabio Bortoluzo said.

GIP bought Atlas from sustainable infrastructure investor Actis in late 2022.

The solar farms acquired by Engie are located in the Brazilian states of Bahia, Ceara and Minas Gerais. The deal is still pending approval from local regulators, the companies said.

($1 = 5.0152 reais)

(Reporting by Gabriel Araujo; Editing by Steven Grattan and Jonathan Oatis)