CASE STUDY
SN Power
CATEGORY
Supply
Capital market tool
Exit Mobilisation
Geography
Uganda; Philippines; Laos
LISTING EXCHANGE
Subsidiary of Scatec Solar, listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange
SECTOR
Hydropower; Renewable Energy
DFI / DONOR INTERVENTION
Norfund
TRANSACTION SIZE
USD 1.17 billion
TRANSACTION YEAR
2020 and 2025
Structure and Capital Market Tool
After building SN Power into a significant hydropower actor in a number of countries, in 2020 Norfund sold its shares in SN Power to Oslo-listed Scatec Solar. This was a significant and large-scale exit to a publicly listed company that allowed Norfund to recycle capital into new projects. Norfund received USD 966 million in cash and a USD 200 million seller credit. It retained ownership of SN Power's facilities in Zambia and Panama, and the two parties agreed to continue working together on SN Power's African projects, in which Norfund kept a 49% stake. In September 2025, Norfund divested its remaining stake in SN Power projects, selling its hydropower assets to Savannah Energy, to fully complete its exit. Although SN Power did not list through an IPO, the company became a subsidiary of a listed entity, indirectly gaining access to broader public capital markets funding.
Background and Market Context
SN Power is a Norwegian energy company and commercial investor that develops and operates hydropower projects in emerging markets. It held stakes in projects in the Philippines and Laos, as well as a majority ownership stake in the Bujagali Hydropower Project in Uganda. SN Power was founded in 2002 and was jointly owned by Statkraft, the Norwegian government-owned hydropower company (50%), and Norfund, the Norwegian Investment Fund for Developing Countries (50%). In 2018, Norfund became the sole owner of SN Power.
Development Impact
The SN Power transaction is one of Norfund's largest exits and illustrates how a DFI can successfully recycle capital at scale. In this supply-side case, Norfund financed and developed an asset and then indirectly brought that asset to public markets. By transferring SN Power to a publicly listed acquirer, Norfund handed its hydropower assets to an owner with permanent access to public equity and debt markets, giving those projects a deeper and more sustainable funding base than a development investor's balance sheet could provide.