BlackRock Real Assets Takes Over South Korean Offshore Wind Developer

A New York-based investment management company, BlackRock Real Assets today announced that it has taken over Korea Renewable Energy Development & Operation Holdings Co Ltd (KREDO Holdings).

The global investment manager has made it its first-ever investment in the South Korean offshore wind sector with this acquisition. Also, it plans to spend more than USD 1 billion of equity over time to build out KREDO Holdings’ asset portfolio.

BlackRock’s USD 60 billion real assets teams help clients’ meet their investment goals by providing a distinct range of well-defined, outcome-orientated strategies, along the investment risk-return spectrum, covering equity, debt, and listed real assets globally.

Recently, BlackRock raised USD 4.8 billion for a new fund to invest in renewable power assets around the world.

According to The Korea Times, BlackRock was holding talks to acquire KREDO Holdings. The announcement on Thursday clarifies that the purchase was made by BlackRock Real Assets’ latest Global Renewable Power strategy, whose final close fetched USD 4.8 billion earlier in 2021.

BlackRock has already started investing the fund’s money, including an American solar company and a solar power developer in Taiwan. Now the firm thinks that South Korea is a priority market for it as the country requires an estimated 50 GW of net renewable energy installations by 2030, including at least 12 GW of offshore wind, to achieve its carbon reduction target.

According to the announcement, KREDO Holdings has an exceptional pipeline of offshore wind and other renewables approximately more than 2 GW of combined power generation capacity. These projects are expected to secure 20-year contracts with subsidiaries of state-owned Korean Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO).

Earlier this month, BlackRock secured over USD 250 million from global investors and governments for the Climate Finance Partnership (CFP), which was introduced at the One Planet Summit in September 2018 under the leadership of French President Emmanuel Macron.