Japanese trading giant Marubeni has picked up Taiwanese solar portfolio developer and operator Chenya Energy, intending to ramp up its floating solar exposure as a result.

Marubeni is to acquire all interests in Chenya currently owned by I Squared Capital, a global infrastructure investment manager, with Chenya becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of Marubeni’s upon completion.

In a statement, Marubeni said that in acquiring Chenya Energy it was to gain expertise in the floating solar market, an area it would expand on in Taiwan and other regions.

I Squared launched Chenya via its pan-Asian renewables development vehicle Asia Cube Energy in 2017. Since then the firm has seen its solar portfolio swell to 344MW, split between floating, rooftop and ground-mounted projects.

Marubeni’s solar investments have been diverse, picking up large-scale projects in markets such as Oman, Abu Dhabi and Qatar, on top of more distributed generation assets through its investments in GridMarket and Azuri Technologies.

In acquiring Chenya, Marubeni will add ~350MW of PV to a 600MW gas-fired generation plant it already owns in the country, making it one of Taiwan’s largest independent power producers.

Gautam Bhandari, managing partner at I Squared Capital, said the deal was the company’s third platform realisation in emerging markets, arguing the deal added to its “consistent track record” in creating value for investors via infrastructure developments.