Masdar weighs buying stake in TotalEnergies' Portuguese renewables, sources say

By Andres Gonzalez and Pietro Lombardi

LONDON/MADRID, March 21(Reuters) - Abu Dhabi renewable energy company Masdar is exploring the acquisition of a stake in French oil major TotalEnergies' TTEF.PA Portuguese renewables assets, three people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

Any deal would likely be done through Saeta Yield, the green energy company Masdar bought last year from Canada's Brookfield, one of the sources said. Reuters could not determine how big a stake Masdar is interested in.

"While we do not comment on market speculation, we continue to explore opportunities in the region as we expand towards our global target of 100 gigawatts by 2030," a Masdar spokesperson said.

TotalEnergies declined to comment.

A deal would be the latest for Masdar in the Iberia region it sees as significant for reaching its global target.

Apart from last year's $1.4 billion acquisition of Saeta, it took a minority stake in a 2 GW solar portfolio controlled by Endesa, and Reuters reported this week that it is also in talks with Endesa to expand their partnership.

These deals, as well as the acquisition of a majority stake in Greek renewable energy company Terna, further expand Masdar's European footprint, the spokesperson said.

TotalEnergies has roughly 600 megawatts of installed renewable capacity in Portugal, the vast majority in wind power, the valuation of which per megawatt is currently higher than solar.

It also has some solar and hydroelectric assets, according to its 2023 Factbook.

TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanne pointed in February to a target of around 2 GW worth of divestment per year as part of its plan to consolidate its renewable portfolio.