TotalEnergies agrees to buy 50% of U.S. renewables company Clearway

PARIS (Reuters) - TotalEnergies said on Wednesday it has agreed to buy 50% of Clearway Energy Group, the fifth-largest renewables company in the United States, marking the French group's largest U.S renewables energy acquisition.

TotalEnergies has been branching out into the fast-growing renewables energy sector and diversifying away from hydrocarbon-centred activities in recent years.

The company said the acquisition would see it team up with Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP). As part of the deal, GIP will receive $1.6 billion in cash and an interest of 50% minus one share in the TotalEnergies subsidiary that holds its 50.6% ownership in SunPower Corporation.

The transaction takes into account valuations of $35.1 per share for ClearWay Energy and $18 per share for SunPower, TotalEnergies added.

"It allows TotalEnergies to scale up in the U.S. market, one of the most dynamic in the world, benefiting from operating assets and a 25 GW high quality pipeline, in wind, solar and storage, with a wide geographic coverage with a presence in 34 states," said TotalEnergies Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Patrick Pouyanne.

Clearway has 7.7 gigawatts (GW) of wind and solar assets in operation through its listed subsidiary CWEN and a 25 GW pipeline of renewable and storage projects.

Last month, TotalEnergies reported a sharp rise in its quarterly profit, helped by a surge in oil and gas prices in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)