Global Infrastructure Partners Acquires Saavi Energia

Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) has acquired major Mexican power producer Saavi Energia from sustainable infrastructure investor Actis. The terms of the transaction were not released to the public.

GPI’s acquisition is the fund manager’s first direct equity investment in Mexico, although it has previously invested US$325 million in Saavi through a loan. The secured term loan from 2020 is to be repaid as part of this transaction. Saavi Energia itself was created after Actis acquired InterGen’s Mexican portfolio for US$1.256 billion in April of 2018.

"We are very pleased with the sale of Saavi Energía to GPI. Our investment in Saavi is a great example of our replicable strategy to build, acquire and grow independent power producers that provide affordable, reliable and clean energy to the communities in which we invest. We remain committed to Mexico, where we see a healthy pipeline of investment opportunities to replicate our value creation thesis,” said Michael Harrington, Partner in Energy at Actis.

Adebayo Ogunlesi, Chairman and Managing Partner of GIP, was also very enthusiastic about the purchase. “We are excited to announce the acquisition of Saavi Energia and its leading power platform in Mexico. Saavi has an exceptional record of providing reliable and efficient energy to leading industrial companies in Mexico. We look forward to working with the management team that has helped build this highly successful business to pursue growth opportunities in both traditional and renewable energy and further broaden its commercial footprint.”

The deal offers plenty of perspective for Saavi’s operations as well, said Jaime Tupper, CEO of Saavi Energia. “Partnering with a global leader in infrastructure investing is an exciting opportunity to deliver on Saavi Energia's strategic vision for growth to help meet Mexico's energy needs. During the last three years, we have transformed the company into an independent, Mexican leader in the energy space. Today, Saavi is a high performing company with a deep commitment to safety, sustainability and we are excited for what the future holds."

Saavi Energía is Mexico’s fourth-largest private power producer, boasting a 2.2GW portfolio of 6 gas-fired combined cycle power plants, 3 compression stations and 65km of natural gas pipelines. Its portfolio is geographically diversified within the country, spread across Baja California, Chihuahua, Tamaulipas, Campeche, Queretaro and Guanajuato. The company also owned 50 percent of the 155MW Energía Sierra Juarez cross-border wind farm, which it developed with IEnova, but the latter acquired 100 percent of the project in April 2021. Saavi mostly caters to the Mexican Wholesale Electricity Market (WEM) but also provides a reserve capacity for California in the US.