Hanwha Solutions to buy France's RES Mediterranee in its largest M&A deal

RES Mediterranee"s wind farm

Hanwha Solutions Corp., the energy unit of South Korea’s Hanwha Group, will acquire a full stake in French renewable energy company RES Mediterranee SAS, in what would be its biggest M&A deal, as part of its efforts to diversify its new renewable energy business portfolio and target markets.

Hanwha Solutions announced in a regulatory filing on Monday that its board approved a plan to purchase a 100 percent stake in RES Mediterranee in an all-cash deal worth 727 million euros ($854.5 million). The deal, which includes RES Mediterranee's 5GW solar and wind power projects in France, is expected to be completed by Oct. 20.

The acquisition marks the largest M&A deal for Hanwha Solutions launched in January 2020 by the three-way merger of Hanwha Q Cells, Hanwha Chemical and Hanwha Advanced Materials.

The latest deal is part of the Korean energy company’s aggressive move to become a leading player in global green energy industry as it is expected to help Hanwha Solution to further expand its footprint in Europe’s green energy market.

RES Mediterranee is a subsidiary of Renewable Energy Systems (RES) Group, one of the world's largest independent developers of solar, wind and energy storage projects.

With the additional 5GW from RES MEditerranee, Hanwha Solutions’ renewable energy projects will amount to 10 GW in Europe and 15 GW globally, allowing it to reach economies of scale with a stable demand market for its solar modules.

The European green energy market is expected to grow fast in the coming years as the European Union (EU) recently announced the Fit for 55 initiative designed to increase the proportion of renewable energy generation to 40 percent by 2030. In France, renewable energy currently accounts for 22 percent of its energy mix.

Hanwha Solutions has expanded its energy business scope by acquiring energy storage software startup Geli and hydrogen storage tank manufacturer Cimarron Composites in the U.S. under the leadership of its CEO Kim Dong-kwan, the eldest son of Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung-youn.

Hanwha Solutions said it is also considering an additional M&A and investment deal to respond to climate changes and develop necessary technology solutions. Hanwha Solutions has enough ammunition after successfully raising 1.35 trillion won ($1.18 billion) in a rights offering earlier this year and securing up to 5 trillion won in financial support from state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB) over the next five years for investment in solar energy and hydrogen business.

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