Li Ka-shing, senior advisor of CK Hutchison and CK Asset.
ANTHONY WALLACE/AFP via Getty Images
CK Group, the business empire of Hong Kong’s wealthiest person Li Ka-shing, is buying a portfolio of wind farms in the U.K. from British asset manager Aviva Investors as the conglomerate continues to snap up energy assets overseas.
A consortium led by CK Group’s infrastructure and energy unit, CK Infrastructure Holdings (CKI), has agreed to acquire a portfolio of 32 wind farms located in England, Scotland and Wales for £350 million ($450 million) from the asset management division of London-based insurer Aviva, CKI said in a statement Wednesday. The assets will “provide immediate returns, stable cashflows and recurring profit contributions,” according to CKI.
The consortium also includes CK Group’s property arm, CK Asset Holdings, and its energy and utility investment unit, Power Assets Holdings. CKI and CK Asset will each own a 40% interest in the wind farm portfolio, while Power Assets will have a 20% stake. The transaction, subject to certain closing adjustments, is expected to be closed in late September.
The deal marks the third energy acquisition by CKI so far this year. The company has been deploying its cash war chest of more than HK$13 billion ($1.7 billion), taking advantage of bargains and reduced competition on the deals front amid higher inflation and interest rate hikes.
In May, CKI announced it has completed a £90.8 million acquisition of UU Solar, which owns and operates 70 renewable power generation assets in the U.K., from British investment firm SDCL Energy Efficiency Income Trust. And in April, a consortium led by CKI purchased Phoenix Energy, which operates Northern Ireland’s largest natural gas distribution network, for £757 million from U.K.-based NatWest Group Pension Fund and Australia-based Utilities Trust of Australia.
Victor Li, chairman of CK Hutchison and CK Asset.
Justin Chin/Bloomberg
Meanwhile, Hong Kong-listed CKI said in July it is considering a secondary listing on an overseas stock exchange, such as London’s, without any fundraising. The potential additional listing could “provide a greater market for trading” in its shares, CKI said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange, adding it had not made any definitive decision on whether to proceed with such a listing.
The prospective secondary listing in London could be CKI’s attempt to boost its valuation, which has been trading below book value, and to broaden its financing channel for making future sizeableacquisitions in Europe, JPMorgan analysts wrote in a note in July.
CKI, which has investments in energy, transportation and water infrastructure, generated nearly half of its revenue from its U.K. businesses, which include UK Power Networks Holdings, the country’s largest electricity distributor in terms of customers, as of December. The rest of its revenue came from Australia, continental Europe, Hong Kong, mainland China, Canada and New Zealand.
CKI is part of Li’s global business empire, which has interests in everything from ports, utilities and telecom to real estate and retail in more than 50 countries. A longtime fixture at the top of Hong Kong’s wealth rankings, Li currently has an estimated net worth of $36.3 billion, according to Forbes’ Real-Time Billionaires List.
Li continues to serve as senior advisor to his two flagship companies, CK Hutchison and CK Asset, after his eldest son, Victor Li, replaced him as chairman in May 2018.