(Bloomberg) -- Brookfield Asset Management Inc. is reviewing dozens of deals tied to climate action after Australian utility AGL Energy Ltd. rejected a multibillion-dollar takeover, according to the firm's Vice Chair Mark Carney.
The Canada-based asset manager, which oversees more than $650 billion, has at least 50 potential transactions under review across a range of industries, Carney said Wednesday at an Australian Financial Review summit.
Brookfield is no longer in active discussions with Sydney-based AGL over a proposal that aimed to accelerate the firm's transition to net-zero emissions by more than a decade, he said.
“AGL is exactly the kind of transition we're ready to do. If it's not AGL we'll look elsewhere,” said Carney, a former Bank of England governor hired to strengthen the firm's environmental, social and governance investing. Brookfield sees a “target-rich environment” for deals linked to efforts to decarbonize the global economy, he said.
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An improved offer by Brookfield and billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes valued AGL's equity at about A$5.4 billion ($3.93 billion), and was rejected as too low, the target said Monday. The bidders had aimed to deliver a A$20 billion transition plan to close down AGL's coal-power plants faster and replace them with cheaper renewable energy.
The approach marked one of the most aggressive moves yet by Brookfield to deploy some of a $15 billion impact fund that's targeting opportunities in industries that need to dramatically curb greenhouse gas emissions or that're in a position to dominate in clean energy.
“We're going to put it to work elsewhere, we'd love to do more in Australia,” Carney said.
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