Next Capital explores Eptec exit | Pac Energy lines up $1.2b debt facility | Best and final for Brookfield-Origin? | MinRes sells DVP stake

Good evening,

QIC’s remote power play Pacific Energy is cashed up and ready to spend big on its pipeline of renewable energy power stations after landing a fresh debt facility.

The deal has seen Pacific Energy rule off a new $350 million debt facility, taking its total facility to $1.2 billion. This comes off the back of a 2022 refinance which saw the facility rise to $860 million from $500 million,

Two new lenders have joined the group – Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation and Metrics Credit Partners – taking Pacific Energy’s lending syndicate to nine. Existing lenders Aussie banks Westpac and NAB, Asian banks Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Mizuho, Bank of China and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and Canada’s Imperial Bank of Commerce also participated.

Half, or $175 million, of the latest financing has been roped off for green loans. Pacific Energy will use this tranche to finance renewable energy projects that meet its green finance framework.

Fresh funds will be used to bankroll Pacific Energy’s pipeline of remote power stations, working largely with miners and state utility providers. The projects are largely made up of renewables and hybrid microgrids, which can combine solar, wind and battery energy storage systems with thermal backup.

Read the full story tomorrow and more on the Street Talk page.

Sharp-eyed market watchers haven’t given up hope that Canadian investment giant Brookfield will be back for round two at Origin Energy. Origin shares were trading dangerously close to Brookfield’s $9.53 offer price on Monday.

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