Actis’ sale of Peruvian power generator Orygen to local conglomerate Grupo Romero marks a rapid but deliberate value‑creation cycle, an executive at the emerging markets-focused infrastructure investment firm said.

The deal highlights both the firm’s ability to execute complex carve‑outs and its continued conviction in Latin America’s infrastructure opportunity set, according to Nicolás Escallón, a São Paulo-based partner at Actis.

The transaction, which was agreed in November 2025 and officially announced on 13 March 2026, saw Actis exit one of Peru’s largest and most diversified power businesses, with 2.3 GW of installed capacity spanning renewables, hydroelectric and thermal generation. The platform was expanded following the firm’s acquisition of a portfolio of generation assets in Peru and subsequent transformation into an independent company.

Spotting entrance opportunities where others exit

Actis, via its USD 4.7bn Actis Energy Fund V, acquired Italian energy company Enel’s Peruvian generation assets in May 2024, demonstrating how the firm has found opportunity in corporate and asset carve outs from European utilities. Escallón explains that the investment thesis was grounded in a long‑standing trend of European energy companies divesting international assets to refocus on domestic markets.

“At the time [when the sellers began work on a sale in 2022] the European Central Bank was raising rates, the Ukraine conflict was breaking out, and many Europe‑based energy companies were changing their strategic priorities to align with their capital needs,” Escallón said. “Enel was a prime candidate to divest its international holdings.”

This approach is consistent with Actis’ historical playbook. In prior cycles, the firm acquired assets from US‑based corporates exiting international markets following the Enron crisis and later from European strategics such as Gas Natural, now Naturgy, after its acquisition of Unión Fenosa. These transactions helped build regional platforms like Guatemala’s Energuate, which Actis acquired in 2011 and from which it exited in 2016.

Making an ‘Actis’ company

In Peru, Actis moved proactively, submitting an unsolicited offer for Enel’s assets before ultimately agreeing to acquire the generation portfolio in 2023 through a competitive sale process led by JPMorgan, Escallón said. The deal required a complex carve‑out, as the business had been integrated with Enel’s distribution operations.

“This was a business that needed to be fully carved out of Enel,” Escallón said. “Actis created a standalone entity with a management team and a board, repositioning it to look, act and feel like an Actis company.”

The firm assembled an experienced leadership team drawn from regional players, including executives from Interconexión Eléctrica (ISA) and Inkia Energy, and implemented a value‑creation strategy focused on operations, commercial capabilities and capital structure optimization.

Central to the repositioning was a pivot toward renewables. Today, Orygen’s generation mix is broadly balanced, with roughly one‑third each across renewables, gas‑fired assets and hydroelectric capacity. Under Actis’ ownership, the company delivered new projects such as the 177 MW Wayra wind farm expansion and advanced a pipeline of solar and wind developments.

At the same time, the firm overhauled the business’s financing structure. While Enel had previously funded the assets via its Italian balance sheet, Actis introduced acquisition financing from an international bank syndicate and refinanced the platform in the capital markets. A USD 1.2bn investment‑grade bond issuance later in 2024 strengthened the company’s balance sheet and extended maturities.

Operational improvements also played a significant role, with management identifying more than USD 10m in annual cost savings. But Escallón highlighted the transformation of Orygen’s commercial organization as a key differentiator. The firm built out a full front, middle, and back-office structure to enhance customer engagement, risk management and execution.

“It’s one of the most important value creation levers and one evolving the most in Peru,” he said.

This strategy proved particularly effective in a market anchored by mining demand. Peru’s large‑scale mining projects require reliable power supply, and Orygen secured long‑term contracts with industrial clients to underpin growth. Its diversified generation mix—combining baseload thermal and hydro assets with intermittent renewables and storage—also enhanced resilience during periods of system stress and provided diversified power supply advantages.

“Orygen provides 24/7 baseload power and can add marginal renewable output, making it more competitive,” Escallón noted.

An opportunistic exit

Despite executing the majority of its business plan, Actis opted for an earlier‑than‑expected exit after building a relationship with Grupo Romero, one of Peru’s largest conglomerates, which had identified power generation as a strategic growth area.

“It definitely wasn’t in our plans to sell after such a short hold time and we could have continued to hold,” said Escallón. “Eighty percent of what we were planning was done. We had expanded the platform since acquiring it.”

The sale reflects confidence in Peru’s underlying fundamentals despite recent political volatility. The country has experienced frequent leadership changes, but Escallón pointed to its macroeconomic stability, including strong reserves, a credible central bank and widespread use of US‑dollar‑denominated contracts.

“The Peruvian market is smaller than other Latin American markets but has strong fundamentals,” he said.

Broader Actis strategy

For Actis , the exit reinforces its broader regional strategy. The firm has built around 30 power generation businesses globally, including roughly nine in the Americas, and continues to allocate significant capital to Latin America through its flagship and long‑life infrastructure strategies.

“Latin America has the largest M&A volume in emerging markets, with high private market participation,” Escallón said. “We see those assets trade and we know there are lots of attractive opportunities. Chile presents the largest opportunity set and we are looking at several situations there. We like the fundamentals of Peru, even though it’s a smaller market.”

Actis is also positioning itself at the intersection of energy and digital infrastructure. The firm has expanded into data centers through platforms such as NextStream, a portfolio of data center assets it acquired in March 2023 from Asterion, and Terranova, while its renewables portfolio—including Brazil‑based Serena—supplies power to these energy‑intensive assets.

Escallón sees how the energy and data center sectors are converging, by design, not by coincidence, and said the proposition of his firm is to build the backbone of the infrastructure of the future.

The Orygen exit encapsulates that approach: sourcing proprietary opportunities, executing complex transformations and recycling capital into the next generation of infrastructure assets across Latin America.