Australian-based renewables investment firm Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners has announced the sale of its portfolio company Scout Clean Energy to Brookfield Renewable for $1.55 billion.
Quinbrook acquired Scout as a start-up in 2017 for an initial investment of just US$6 million.
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A partnership was established with Scout’s founder and CEO Michael Rucker to create a large-scale, vertically integrated wind power producer focused on the development, construction, ownership and operational management of large-scale wind power assets diversified across multiple US states and power markets.
Over that period, Quinbrook deployed a further US$470 million of equity capital from its managed funds and spearheaded the rapid growth of Scout into a fully integrated developer, owner and operator of a diverse and multi-technology asset portfolio spanning 1.2GW of operational wind projects in four states, including 400MW managed on behalf of third parties, and plans to deliver over 22GW of wind, solar and storage projects across 24 states by the end of this decade. Of these projects, 8.6GW have interconnection queue positions and 2.5GW are in late-stage development with pending construction starts.
Quinbrook managing partner and co-founder David Scaysbrook said, “Building Scout from a start-up into the significant and successful business it is today has been a five-year long commitment by the Quinbrook team working in a close partnership with Michael and Scout management.
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“This venture was a resounding success on many levels. Scout hosts a remarkable collective of professionals, and we are proud of all that we have accomplished together.
“We have exceeded our plans for investor value creation by sponsoring Scout from its infancy, and now is the right time for us to hand the business on for its next growth chapter. We fully expect Scout to feature prominently in the US renewables landscape in the coming years.”
