(Bloomberg) -- Canadian renewable energy firm Boralex Inc. is selling a minority stake in its French operations to help fund acquisitions as it seeks to expand into new European markets.

Boralex agreed to sell 30% of its assets and projects in France to Energy Infrastructure Partners AG for 532 million euros ($596 million), the Montreal-based company said Thursday in a statement. Shares of Boralex jumped as much as 10% on the Toronto Stock Exchange, its biggest jump since April 2020.

Boralex will use some of the proceeds for acquisitions and growth in new geographies such as Spain and the Nordic countries, Chief Financial Officer Bruno Guilmette said in a conference call with investors. Some will be used to reduce debt as part of the firm’s push for an investment grade credit rating, he said. An undisclosed amount will be reinvested into the French business, which Boralex wants to expand with its new Swiss partner.

Boralex’s moves come as companies and investors are showing continued appetite for low-carbon power production as Europe seeks to accelerate its shift from dirtier fossil fuels to combat global warming. The push also comes as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine underscores Europe’s dependence on imports of natural gas from the former Soviet Union.

Boralex will focus its acquisition search on renewable energy projects that are under development rather than existing wind an solar farms, which tend to be more expensive, the company’s general manager for Europe Nicolas Wolff said in an interview. He sees Boralex as being able to bring in expertise and create value by targeting projects at the development stage.

“We’ll try to avoid getting on already installed, de-risked projects for which we probably wouldn’t be competitive,” Wolff said. “When everything is de-risked, we will face investment funds, which may be more competitive than us.”

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