Aker Horizons — Share Issue/Capital Change 2022

Mar 24, 2022

Mitsui Joins Aker Horizons as Long-Term Strategic Investor in Mainstream Renewable Power to Accelerate Growth

Mitsui Joins Aker Horizons as Long-Term Strategic Investor in Mainstream Renewable Power to Accelerate Growth

· Mitsui & Co., Ltd. invests EUR 575 million in Mainstream Renewable Power to

accelerate growth of Mainstream's renewable energy portfolio globally, including

across the Americas, Africa, Asia-Pacific and Europe

· Mainstream will issue new common shares, giving Mitsui a 27.5 percent

ownership interest

· Mitsui to strengthen Mainstream's transformation to a renewable energy major

through complementary geographic footprint, global customer network and

industrial capabilities

Mainstream Renewable Power ("Mainstream", the "Company"), the global renewable

energy company, is pleased to announce that Mitsui & Co., Ltd. ("Mitsui") has

agreed to invest EUR 575 million in Mainstream in the form of new common shares,

corresponding to a 27.5 percent equity stake in the Company. Mitsui will take a

long-term active role in the growth of the Company, alongside Aker Horizons,

which will own 54.4 percent of Mainstream following the transaction.

This transaction values Mainstream at approximately EUR 2.1 billion on a 100

percent basis.

Accelerating Mainstream's transformation to a renewable energy major

Mitsui and Mainstream's portfolios are focused and complementary, with both

companies having significant assets in operation or under development in Latin

America, Africa and Asia. Mitsui will leverage its global business network

across industries and its wide-ranging industrial capabilities, including global

independent power producer (IPP) competence from 22 countries.

Mitsui is one of the leading Japanese general trading and investment firms, with

approximately 45,000 employees in 63 countries. Mitsui's business activities

span across mineral and metal resources, iron and steel, infrastructure,

chemicals and energy.

Mitsui's global presence, deep experience in the power sector and global

strategic alliances, coupled with Aker Horizons' industrial capabilities, will

have significant strategic implications for Mainstream's transformation into a

renewable energy major, including:

· Accelerating the Company's geographic expansion into high-growth markets

· Broadening its routes to market, particularly in the Corporate Power

Purchase Agreement (PPA) sector

· Accelerating the increase in its construction and operations capacity across

multi-gigawatt platforms

· Augmenting its energy solutions capabilities including battery storage and

power trading

· Spurring its growth in green ammonia and green hydrogen production, thereby

rapidly advancing its Power to X offering

Delivering significant operational progress

Mainstream is a pure-play renewable energy company with a 14-year track record

in developing, building and operating wind and solar generation assets across

global markets, including in Latin America, Africa, Asia-Pacific and Europe. It

is one of the most successful developers of gigawatt-scale renewables platforms

across onshore wind, offshore wind, and solar power generation having

successfully delivered 6.5 GW of assets to financial close-ready, including the

Hornsea zone, the world's largest offshore wind farm in operation today.

Since Aker Horizons announced the acquisition of a 75 percent stake in

Mainstream in January 2021, the company has delivered material operational

progress, including:

· Advancing the construction of its wholly owned 1.4 GW Andes Renovables wind

and solar generation platform in Chile which is on track to be fully operational

next year

· Increasing its global portfolio by 5.2 GW, bringing the pipeline to 16.6 GW.

Mainstream also has around 8 GW of identified opportunities, bringing the total

volume of pipeline and opportunities to 25 GW

· Obtaining preferred bidder status for 1.27 GW of wind and solar projects in

South Africa

· Launching the 1 GW Nazca Renovables platform in Chile, including the signing

of a private PPA with a strategic partner

· Securing an investment decision from regional authorities for the first 200

MW of the 1.4 GW Phu Cuong Soc Trang offshore wind project in Vietnam

· Acquiring an initial 50 percent ownership stake in an 800 MW floating

offshore wind project in Japan, along with Aker Offshore Wind

· Successfully completing the planned divestment of Chilean power producer

Aela Energia for USD 686 million, and progressing the divestment of one of

Africa's largest independent power producers, Lekela Power, with targeted

completion end of this year

Kristian Røkke, Chief Executive Officer of Aker Horizons and Chairman of

Mainstream said: "Mitsui is the perfect partner for Mainstream to accelerate the

company's growth to become a renewable energy major. I have known Mitsui for

many years and am certain that their rich industrial heritage, global presence

and like-minded approach to sustainability will bring substantial value to

Mainstream. We see Mainstream as an integral part of Aker Horizons' plans to

develop mega-scale green industrial hubs, drawing on synergies between Mitsui,

the Aker Horizons portfolio and other strategic partners."

Mary Quaney, Group Chief Executive of Mainstream Renewable Power said: "There

has never been a more critical time in the history of our planet to accelerate

the global transition to renewable energy. Today's transformational announcement

reinforces Mainstream's leadership position in the global race to net zero as

well as enabling nations to rapidly reduce their dependence on oil and gas

imports through the large-scale deployment of renewables. We are delighted to

welcome Mitsui as our new strategic partner alongside Aker Horizons. Together we

are fully focused on expediting our ambitious growth plans and leveraging our

collective expertise and resources to transform Mainstream into a global

renewable energy major this decade."

Kazumasa Nakai, Chief Operating Officer of Mitsui said: "We are delighted to

participate in Mainstream jointly with Aker Horizons to boost growth and

expansion of development and construction/operation activities of Mainstream, by

leveraging our global business networks with customers across industries and its

wide-ranged industrial capabilities, including deep expertise in the global

power sector. We are convinced that the participation in Mainstream will further

strengthen the strategic partnership between the Aker group and Mitsui, driving

forward our renewable energy transition and greenhouse gas reduction in response

to global climate change."

Global partnership to develop strong business clusters in the renewable energy

sector

Mitsui, Aker Horizons and Mainstream aim to promote and develop strong business

clusters in the Renewable Energy space, building on years of successful

cooperation between Mitsui and the Aker group. Mitsui's investment in Mainstream

will further strengthen the strategic partnership between the two industrial

groups, paving the way for collaborations in new business areas such energy

trading, energy management, battery storage, as well as green hydrogen and

ammonia. Mitsui aims to develop business clusters of scale within renewable

energy assets by leveraging integrated functions of its various business units.

Details on the transaction

The transaction will be completed as a private placement of common shares in

Aker Mainstream Renewables AS, the holding company of Mainstream Renewable

Power, towards Mitsui, raising EUR 575 million in gross proceeds to the Company.

Following the transaction, Mitsui will hold a 27.5 percent share in Mainstream,

Aker Horizons will hold 54.4 percent and Mainstream's founder, Eddie O'Connor,

along with Irish retail investors hold the remaining 18.1 percent. Closing of

the transaction is expected in April 2022.

Mitsui, Aker Horizons and Mainstream will continue developing Mainstream towards

an initial public offering. The transaction demonstrates the ability to attract

strategic capital and flexibility in IPO timing. A future cooperation with Aker

Asset Management, the Aker group's asset management business area with an

ambition to establish funds totalling EUR 100 billion, provides additional

avenues to finance gigawatt-scale decarbonization projects.

DNB Markets, a part of DNB Bank ASA, has acted as financial advisor and

Advokatfirmaet BAHR AS has acted as legal advisor to Mainstream and Aker

Horizons in connection with the transaction.

IMPORTANT NOTICE

This information is considered to be inside information pursuant to the EU

Market Abuse Regulation and is subject to the disclosure requirements in

Regulation EU 596/2014 and the Norwegian Securities Trading Act § 5-12. This

stock exchange announcement was published by Ivar Simensen, Communications, Aker

Horizons on 24 March 2022 at CET 07:30.

Contact:

Ivar Simensen, Communications, Tel: +47 464 02 317,

ivar.simensen@akerhorizons.com

Christian Yggeseth, Investor Relations, Tel: +47 915 10 000,

christian.yggeseth@akerhorizons.com

About Mainstream Renewable Power

Mainstream Renewable Power is a leading pure-play renewable energy company, with

wind and solar assets across global markets, including in Latin America, Africa,

and Asia-Pacific. Mainstream is one of the most successful developers of

gigawatt-scale renewables platforms, across onshore wind, offshore wind, and

solar power generation. It has successfully delivered 6.5 GW of wind and solar

generation assets to financial close-ready. In May 2021, Aker Horizons acquired

a 75 percent equity stake in the company, accelerating its plans to deliver its

high-quality pipeline of over 16 gigawatts of renewable energy. Mainstream

employs 485 people across five continents.

www.mainstreamrp.com

About Mitsui

Mitsui & Co., Ltd. is one of the leading Japanese general trading and investment

firms, established in 1947, with global presence in the various business fields

and 63 countries/regions with approximately 45,000 employees. Mitsui's core

strategic aim is to pursue sustainable growth, and through its business

activities contribute to the development of countries and regions around the

world while addressing climate change and other global issues. As part of this,

Mitsui has set a target to reduce GHG impact by 2030 to half of what it was in

2020 and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. Mitsui currently has 65 power

assets in 22 countries, with gross capacity of 39.6 GW and net capacity

(Mitsui's share) of 10.8 GW.

About Aker Horizons

Aker Horizons ASA is a planet-positive investment company dedicated to

developing companies within renewable energy and other technologies that reduce

emissions or promote sustainable living. The company is listed on the Oslo Stock

Exchange and indirectly majority-owned by Aker ASA. Aker Horizons' investment

portfolio includes holdings in Aker Clean Hydrogen, Aker Offshore Wind, Aker

Carbon Capture and Mainstream Renewable Power.

www.akerhorizons.com