Canada's Brookfield buys UK firm Banks Group's renewable energy unit - Reuters

Canada's Brookfield buys UK firm Banks Group's renewable energy unit | Reuters

Canada's Brookfield buys UK firm Banks Group's renewable energy unit

Miniatures of windmill, solar panel and electric pole are seen in front of Brookfield Renewable logo in this illustration taken January 17, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File photo Acquire Licensing Rights

- Companies

Oct 3 (Reuters) - Canadian investment firm Brookfield (BN.TO) is buying the renewable energy division of Banks Group, the UK-based firm, whose businesses also include mining and transport, said on Tuesday.

The Financial Times, which first reported the news, said the deal was worth about $1 billion, citing people with knowledge of the matter.

The Banks Group's statement did not have a deal value, and a Brookfield spokesperson declined to comment on transaction details.

The Banks Renewables unit operates 11 onshore wind farms across Scotland and the north of England and has other projects for solar and wind in development.

The wind industry in the UK and Europe has been hit recently by supply chain disruptions, rising project costs and inflation.

An effective ban on new onshore wind farms in Britain in 2015 -- that allowed new wind farms to be quashed by local authorities based on just one objection -- meant very few new onshore sites got planning permission.

However, the UK government said last month it would bring in new measures to streamline planning rules so councils will have to take into account the views of the whole community rather than just one complainant.

In September, Brookfield and French lender Societe Generale (SOGN.PA) had announced a private debt fund with initial seed funding of 2.5 billion euros ($2.62 billion) that would be directed towards the power, transportation and finance sectors, among others. ($1 = 0.9558 euros)

Reporting by Evelyn Nikhila S in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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