Ratch Group completes $605m Nexif acquisition

SET-listed Ratch Group, Thailand’s largest private power producer by capacity, has completed a US$605 million deal to acquire Singapore-based Nexif Energy Joint Venture, part of a move to grow its energy and battery businesses.

It bought the asset from RH International (Singapore) Corporation Pte.

The acquisition led Ratch to establish Nexif Ratch Energy Investments Pte to oversee new and existing businesses of Nexif Energy, according to a letter submitted to the Stock Exchange of Thailand yesterday.

Choosri Kietkajornkul, chief executive of Ratch, said the deal is part of Ratch’s plan to seek new opportunities in the energy sector in Southeast Asia and Australia.

Nexif Energy controls 24 projects, both in operation and under construction, in Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines and Australia.

There are 12 onshore and offshore wind farm projects, three hydropower projects, three solar power projects, two combined-cycle power plant projects and four battery energy storage projects.

Ratch wants to focus more on renewable energy by increasing its proportion to 25% of total fuels within 2025, up from 15% at present.

The company aims to ramp up this proportion to 40% by 2035.

The plan is in line with the government’s efforts to reach carbon neutrality, balancing carbon dioxide emissions and absorption by 2050.

Ms Choosri said the investment in Nexif Energy also aligns with the company’s goal to recognise revenue of its newly acquired assets immediately.

This will create income stability and long-term benefits for the company, she said.

Ratch announced earlier it expects revenue to grow by 10-15% next year, mainly driven by its expansion of electricity generation capacity.

Additional capacity will partly come from Ratch’s newly acquired assets.

Ratch’s total power generation capacity stands at 9,939 megawatts.

Ratch also expects to rack up revenue from its wood pellet production plant in Laos’s Champasak province. The facility, with a capacity of 100,000 tonnes per year, is scheduled to start operation in the second quarter of next year.

In March 2020, Ratch acquired a 49% share in Nexif Energy Rayong power plant for $21 million.