Tokyo Gas has agreed to pay $200 million for a 9.7 per cent stake in Octopus Energy in a deal that values the supplier at more than $2 billion (£1.5 billion).
The two companies have also agreed to work together to launch Octopus Energy in Japan using its proprietary Kraken platform. Octopus Energy Japan will be run by TG Octopus Energy – a 70:30 split joint venture between pair.
“Increasingly, our vision is attracting some of the most impressive businesses and investors in energy from around the world,” wrote Octopus Energy chief executive Greg Jackson in a blog on the company’s website.
“We’re now getting the financial backing to really speed up the fight against climate change, to take it global fast and to challenge those companies who’re trying to hold back change.”
Octopus had already become a so-called unicorn – a start-up valued at more than $1 billion – after Australian firm Origin Energy paid £300 million for a 20 per cent stake in May. Origin has now agreed invest a further $47 million, bringing the total new investment to almost a quarter of a billion dollars.
“This is not an achievement in itself,” said Jackson. “It is merely the fuel that will allow us to keep accelerating in our determination to drive a cheaper green revolution globally.
“We’ve now demonstrated many of the capabilities and opportunities of a smart grid. We’ve shown at scale that tech can reduce costs whilst going green, and that customers can be the centre of the solution rather than an afterthought.”