Australian battery developer Akaysha Energy has extended the close of its portfolio refinancing and reduced debt sizing for a third time, sources told NPM.

The deal came to market in early April for AUD 2.05bn (USD 1.47bn) but was then reduced to AUD 1.95, and is now around AUD 1.75bn to AUD 1.8bn, they said.

The talks are for five, seven and ten-year tenors, said NPM sources.

BlackRock-owned Akaysha Energy had previously extended the close on the AUD 2bn (USD 1.44bn) portfolio refinancing by around a month, NPM reported.

NPM had earlier reported on July 17 that the RBC Capital Markets-led refinancing was expected to close within weeks.

The Australian battery market has been hit hard by a mild winter this year, and its effects have flowed on to wholesale power price volatility, which is where batteries make their money.

This turn in the market is affecting developers’ chances of securing long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) to secure construction costs and provide a revenue stream for financiers, NPM reported on August 27.

The projects being financed are Akaysha’s four operating batteries – Waratah, Ulinda Park, Brendale and Orana – and Elaine, which is under construction, as reported.

Sale

Non-binding indicative offers (NBIOs) for the Macquarie Capital-advised sale of a full or partial sale of Akaysha’s assets were due in the first week of July, as reported.

The M&A process is currently in the binding bid phase, with several bidders interested in the deal, sources said. Other sources said the sale has been delayed because the vendors did not get the bids they wanted.

Akaysha hired Macquarie for the full or partial sale earlier this year. It is BlackRock’s second attempt to sell Akaysha, with the current process in the market since at least March.

Akaysha has over 4GWh of battery capacity in operation, 1.2GWh in construction and a 40GWh pipeline of projects. Its Waratah Super Battery, which it claims is the world’s most powerful battery at 850 MW, is located around 100km north of Sydney.

BlackRock Real Assets acquired Melbourne-based Akaysha Energy in August 2022 with plans to commit more than AUD 1bn to support development of more than 1 GW of batteries across Australia.

Akaysha Energy and Macquarie declined to comment.