Canada's La Caisse to buy Australia's Edify Energy in $724 million renewables push

Sept 22 (Reuters) - Canadian pension fund La Caisse will buy Australian renewables developer Edify Energy for A$1.1 billion ($724.57 million), the companies said in a joint statement on Monday.

The deal includes equity for the development of two advanced solar and battery storage projects, which will supply clean energy to major offtake partners including mining giant Rio Tinto RIO.L and the Australian federal government.

La Caisse, one of the world’s largest institutional investors, reported net assets of C$496 billion ($359.5 billion) as of the end of June.

The acquisition of Edify provides the Canadian firm with a substantial foothold in Australia's rapidly growing clean energy sector — a strategic market it has been targeting for several years as part of its global expansion efforts.

The Australian government has set its 2035 emissions target at a reduction of 62%-70% from 2005 levels, a lower-than-expected figure that will still need substantial deployment of renewable capacity in its energy mix.

($1 = 1.5181 Australian dollars)

($1 = 1.3799 Canadian dollars)