Chow Tai Fook Enterprises reportedly mulls sale of Alinta Energy

Chow Tai Fook Enterprises, owned by Hong Kong billionaire Henry Cheng, is reportedly planning to sell its Australian power company Alinta Energy, with a value of about US$3 billion, according to Bloomberg.

Quoting close sources of the matter, Bloomberg said Chow Tai Fook is working with Goldman Sachs Group on the potential divestment. The company has reached out to several potential suitors to consider interest in Alinta and is seeking to officially kick off the sale process as soon as the coming weeks.

In a conversation with MARKETING-INTERACTIVE, a spokesperson of Alinta Energy said the Bloomberg report was not accurate and the business is not up for sale.

Founded in 1995, Alinta Energy has been supplying energy to Australians for over 20 years. It has been the main source of gas and electricity for over one million customers across Australia and New Zealand.  Alinta Energy owns and operates power stations across Australia, including the Braemar Power Station in Queensland, the Wagerup Power Station in Western Australia – as well as the Glenbrook power station in New Zealand.

In January 2018, its owners acquired the Loy Yang B Power Station in Victoria. This US$1 billion investment helped secure hundreds of Australian jobs and contributes to ensuring a reliable and affordable energy supply for around 1.5 million homes in Victoria. It also operates distribution infrastructure across Australia, helping deliver around 3,000MW of power to Australian homes and businesses, according to the company website.

Back in April this year, Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group's retail sales value grew by only 8.5% in Q1 2022, lower than that of the previous quarter of 31.1%. It has opened more than 250 stores in the country to expand its business.

In its official statement, Chow Tai Fook said during Q1 2022, both Mainland China and Hong Kong and Macau recorded negative same store sales growth due to the resurgence of the pandemic and a tough base. Same store sales dropped by 11.3% year-on-year in the Mainland during the quarter, despite the fact that it was flat in the first two months of 2022. In Hong Kong and Macau, business was negatively impacted by the new wave of the pandemic in Hong Kong, with same store sales declining by 21.9%. Hong Kong registered a negative same store sales growth of 39% in Q1 2022, whereas Macau’s same store sales growth was 27.9% due to a recovering tourist spending and a stable local consumption.

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