France's VINCI buys energy business of Spain's ACS for €4.9B

French construction company VINCI SA has completed its €4.9 billion acquisition of Cobra IS, the energy business of Spanish rival ACS SA.

The deal covers most of the contracting business of the ACS Industrial Services division; nine greenfield concession projects under development or construction, mainly electrical transmission networks in Latin America; and the renewable energy project development platform, according to a Dec. 31, 2021, news release.

VINCI expects the deal to help it become a "significant player" in the renewable energy sector. The company said it has identified around 15 GW of new short- and medium-term opportunities, mainly in solar photovoltaic and onshore wind, as well as additional capacity from potential offshore wind projects.

Under the deal, ACS will receive an earnout payment of €40 million for each gigawatt of up to 15 GW ready-to-build renewable energy capacity developed by Cobra IS over a period of 8.5 years.

VINCI and ACS have also agreed to establish a joint venture that will have the right to buy, at market price, renewable energy assets developed, financed, built and connected to the grid by Cobra IS. VINCI will own 51% of the joint venture.