Brookfield gains a foothold in Europe

Article Excerpt

Brookfield Renewable Energy currently generates hydroelectric and wind power in the U.S. (50% of output), Canada (35%) and Brazil (15%). The company is now expanding in Ireland with a big acquisition of wind farms. It aims to use this purchase as an entry point for further European expansion. BROOKFIELD RENEWABLE ENERGY PARTNERS L.P. $32.00 (Toronto symbol BEP.UN; Units outstanding: 265.2 million; Market cap: $8.4 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 4.7%; www.brpfund.com) is buying the wind power assets of the Irish government’s Bord Gais Energy for $960 million. The purchase includes 321 megawatts of capacity across 17 projects in Ireland and Northern Ireland. Bord Gais has another 125 megawatts under construction and 300 megawatts in the planning stage. To put the acquisition in perspective, Brookfield currently operates 196 hydroelectric generating stations, 11 wind farms and two natural-gas-fired plants. In all, it has 6,000 megawatts of generating capacity. The Irish government will use the sale proceeds to cut the national…