The stock market is bad at understanding the value of renewable energy, the CEO of one of the largest US power companies told Semafor, which could explain why his company is reportedly closing in on a takeover by private equity.
AES Chief Executive Andrés Gluski said he has been frustrated in the past few years to see his company’s share price fall by half even as it has become one of the largest purveyors of clean energy to tech companies and data centers. One reason, he said, is the large amount of upfront debt required to build solar and wind farms, which leaves a company’s balance sheet looking unhealthy in the short term even though, in the long term, renewables are less prone to breakdowns and less exposed to fuel price volatility than fossil power plants. But the more important problem is vibes, Gluski said: “Our stock has suffered because renewables aren’t in the zeitgeist of the moment.”
So it may come as no surprise that, according to the Financial Times, BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Partners is nearing a $38 billion deal to buy AES. The company declined to comment on that report, but Gluski told Semafor in the interview: “The public markets are failing to see an opportunity.” Maybe the private market would treat the company better.