Administrators have commenced the bidding process for the $30 billion Sun Cable project after the Australian company went into voluntary administration in January 2023.
Sun Cable appointed FTI Consulting as administrators after major shareholders Mike Cannon-Brookes and Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest clashed over the financial direction of the company following a missed major milestone in the project’s development in September 2022.
“While funding proposals were provided, consensus on the future direction and funding structure of the company could not be achieved,” said Sun Cable in a statement at the time.
Forrest’s Squadron Energy and Cannon-Brookes’s Grok Ventures both wished to invest more capital into the company, but the two entities couldn’t agree on terms.
FTI Consulting is aiming to recapitalise the company, or find a buyer, and has appointed MA Moelis Australia and Moelis & Company as sale advisor.
Sun Cable is the ambitious solar energy power plant that will link the Northern Territory to Southeast Asia – as the Australia-Asia PowerLink project – making it the biggest solar generation and transmission link in the world.
It will generate solar power from a site 800km south of Darwin, sending power as far north as Indonesia and Singapore via an undersea cable.
The project received backing from Infrastructure Australia in July 2022, allowing for significant capital raising, however the voluntary administration has put a cloud over its future.
In late January 2022, Grok Ventures injected $65 million of interim funding into Sun Cable to allow it to continue to develop projects as part of the intercontinental project.
FTI Consulting is hoping for a sale of Sun Cable by the end of April 2023.
“Administrators are seeking binding proposals for the sale of Sun Cable by the end of April 2023, with targeted completion no later than the end of May 2023,” said the company.
“Moelis will commence a process to invite offers for sale or recapitalisation of the company.”
When complete in 2029, Sun Cable will generate 17 to 20 gigawatts of electricity, with around 800MW to be utilised by Darwin’s local power network, and 4200km of undersea cables supplying Singapore around 15 per cent of its electricity supply.
The project is expected to reduce CO2 emissions by 8.6 million tonnes annually.