Collapsed company Sun Cable’s $20 billion AAPowerLink project has been rescued by part owner and Australian tech entrepreneur Mike Cannon-Brookes, administrators FTI Consulting said in a statement.
FTI Consulting will now work with Helietta Holdings 1, an entity affiliated with Cannon-Brookes’ Grok Ventures, to finalise the deal, which is expected to be completed before the end of July.
Related article: Collapsed Sun Cable AAPowerLink attracts multiple bids
The value of the sale was not disclosed but the transaction is expected to allow the unsecured creditors of Sun Cable to be paid in full.
“A big step in the right direction. We’ve always believed in the possibilities Sun Cable presents in exporting our boundless sunshine, and what it could mean for Australia,” Cannon-Brookes said.
“It’s time to stretch our country’s ambition. We need to take big swings if we are going to be a renewable energy superpower. So swing we will.”
Sun Cable’s proposed Australia-Asia PowerLink (AAPowerLink), which would send power from a 20GW solar farm with the world’s biggest battery in the Northern Territory across a 4,200km undersea cable to Singapore.
Grok intends to push ahead with PowerLink’s development toward a final investment decision, with Stage 1 of the project due to deliver 0.9GW of generation into Darwin and 1.8GW into Singapore.
The Singapore-based Sun Cable was owned by the private firms of two of Australia’s richest people, Dr Andrew Forrest’s Squadron Energy and Cannon-Brookes’ Grok Ventures.
Related article: Sale process begins for AAPowerLink’s Sun Cable
Dr Forrest said Squadron did not submit a binding offer to buy Sun Cable and would instead focus on its existing renewable energy targets.
“We remain unconvinced of the commercial viability of the Australia-Asia Powerlink but if others believe it can be achieved, we wish them all the best,” he said in a statement.
