UPDATE 2-Norway's Scatec Solar to buy hydropower firm SN Power in $1.17 bln deal

* Shares jump 25% on deal worth $1.17bn
* Sees solar firm branch out into hydropower
* Highlights green portfolio diversification trend

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By Nora Buli and Gwladys Fouche
OSLO, Oct 16 (Reuters) - Norwegian solar firm Scatec Solar
SCAA.OL said on Friday it had agreed to buy state-owned
hydropower firm SN Power in a $1.17 billion deal as it
transforms itself into a global renewables company.
Shares in Scatec Solar were up 25.7% by 0743 GMT.
The combined company would have 450 employees and own 3.3
gigawatts of in operation and under construction power plant
capacity in 14 countries, and annual production of 4.1
terawatthours (TWh), Scatec Solar said in a statement.
Scatec owns and runs solar farms in Africa, Asia, Europe and
Latin America, while SN Power builds and operates dams in
southeast Asia and Africa.
"Hydropower and solar PV (photovoltaics) are complementary
technologies, resulting in new project opportunities, for
instance floating solar on hydro reservoirs," Scatec Solar CEO
Raymond Carlsen said.
The deal would also help Scatec Solar expand in growth
markets for renewable energies such as sub-Saharan Africa and
southeast Asia, Carlsen said.
The firm it planned to further branch out into wind and
electricity storage.
While many traditional utilities have announced deals to
expand into green power assets to cut greenhouse gas emissions,
the latest acquisition is one of only a few M&A deals between
renewables firms.
"We strongly support the transition from harmful coal
towards clean solar and wind energy globally," Eric Pedersen,
head of responsible investments at Nordea Asset Management, said
of the deal on Friday.
Scatec Solar is buying 100% of the shares in SN Power, owned
by Norfund, an investment fund for developing countries owned by
the Norwegian state, for a total equity value of about $1.17
billion.
"Today, we are witnessing an excellent example of how smart,
green and sustainable investments in developing countries can be
profitable and thus help with both solving the climate crisis
and reducing poverty," Norwegian minister for international
development Dag-Inge Ulstein said in a statement.
The government would reinvest the capital into new projects,
he added.

(Editing by Rashmi Aich and Jason Neely and Kirsten Donovan)