Dive Brief:
- NRG Energy is courting seven potential buyers after announcing last month it intended to shed its renewable energy assets in a restructuring move, Bloomberg reports.
- The buyers include NextEra Energy, investment fund Global Infrastructure Partners, Blackstone Group, GIC Pte, Borealis Infrastructure Management, John Hancock Life Insurance Co. and KKR &Co.
- The potential bids come after NRG announced a corporate reorganization plan and sought to raise $4 billion by divesting assets representing 60% of its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization.
Dive Insight:
NRG Energy continues its push toward corporate transformation after it announced plans to reduce its debt by $13 billion and raise up to $4 billion in revenue by selling off 6 GW of conventional and renewable energy assets.
In May, reports emerged about NRG mulling a recommendation to sell all of its renewable energy assets as part of a review of the company's corporate structure. Media sources at the time speculated the review could result in selling projects developed by NRG and those in NRG Yield, the company's yieldco, marking a significant deviation from the renewables-focused vision of former CEO David Crane.
Crane during his tenure led the independent power producer's entry into renewable and distributed energy markets. But after poor stock performance, investors became disenchanted with Crane's vision, leading to his departure in 2015. NRG shed its residential solar arm, NRG Home, in February.
Low power prices in wholesale power markets led to a nearly $900 million loss for the company last year. The company's GenOn subsidiary — with more than 14 GW of generation — filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in June. NRG CEO Mauricio Gutierrez told analysts on an earnings call in March that the IPP model is "now obsolete and unable to create value in the long term."
With these struggles in mind, Gutierrez told analysts in July that NRG would focus on developing as "an integrated platform of generation and retail," tapering its focus on a more tailored set of markets. He also said the company could announce asset sales as soon as the third quarter.
However, the deal could take months to close, and NRG declined to comment to Bloomberg on the possible bidders.
