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Chow Tai Fook buys Australian energy company

Written by Ben Blaschke

Macau investor Chow Tai Fook Enterprises Ltd has agreed to acquire Australia’s Alinta Energy Holdings Ltd in a deal worth AU$4 billion.

The surprise deal is the latest move in Chow Tai Fook’s aggressive overseas expansion plans of late – which have included significant forays into the gaming industry via properties in Korea, the Caribbean and Australia’s latest integrated resort development in Brisbane.

Suggesting further investment was on the horizon, the company said, “Alinta Energy would be Chow Tai Fook Enterprises’ first significant investment in Australia outside of real estate and integrated resorts.

“We will retain the existing Alinta Energy senior management team and grow its business by pursuing appropriate investment opportunities in the Australian energy market as they arise.”

Best known for its property development group in Hong Kong as well as operating a chain of highly successful jewelry stores, Chow Tai Fook recently acquired the stalled Baha Mar resort in the Caribbean. It has also partnered Star Entertainment Group and Far East Consortium to develop Brisbane’s Queen’s Wharf IR and is working with VinaCapital and Suncity on a property in Vietnam’s Quang Nam Province.