China Huaneng buys 50% of Aussie power firm OzGen
The Straits Times, December 17, 2003
The IIS$230m deal will give it stakes in two power plants
ONE of China 's biggest power companies is buying half of Australia 's OzGen in its first overseas acquisition, the companies said.
China Huaneng Group is paying US$230 million for the stake in OzGen, a subsidiary of US-based InterGen, the China Daily Business Weekly reported.
"The deal is an important step for us as we expand our presence abroad and become a Global 500 firm by 2010," it quoted Huaneng Group president Li Xiaopeng as saying.
A spokeswoman for InterGen told Dow Jones Newswires the agreement was to be signed yesterday in Brisbane .
OzGen owns a 54 per cent stake in the 840MW Millmerran power plant and 50 per cent of the 840MW Callide C plant, both in Queensland State . The deal will give China Huaneng a 27 per cent interest in Millmerran and a 25 per cent interest in Callide, said the InterGen spokeswoman.
InterGen is a joint venture between Royal Dutch/Shell Group and Bechtel Enterprise Holdings. The joint management company will probably be based in Brisbane , Queensland Premier Peter Beattie said.
Huaneng beat rival bidders Sime Darby Bhd, Origin Energy Ltd, Australia 's second largest energy retailer, and Stanwell Corp, a Queensland state-owned generator, to buy the stakes in InterGen's two plants for about A$300 million (S$380 million), the Australian newspaper said last week.
Huaneng also expressed 'strong interest" in Queensland 's thermal coal reserves and may seek to export coal to China for use in its coal fired generators, Mr. Beattie said. -AP, Bloomberg
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