Longyangxia hydropower project of State Power Investment Corporation.

The acquisition by China's State Power Investment Corporation of Australian renewable energy company Pacific Hydro in January 2016 has been awarded the Cross-Border M&A Deal of the Year by Latin Finance, a provider of financial markets intelligence on Latin America and the Caribbean, the agency announced recently.

Pacific Hydro has 19 electric and wind facilities in Australia, Brazil and Chile, and it was added to the Chinese company’s roster of assets in 35 countries. Its assets in Latin America accounted for some 70 percent of the roughly $3 billion acquisition deal, with five operating hydro plants in Chile and two wind farms in Brazil, according to the announcement.

The deal received the award for its impressive size, complexity and speed of transaction, the announcement stated.

A picture from Latin Finance's offcial Twitter acount.

“The acquisition of Pacific Hydro will add a high-quality global renewable development platform to SPIC,” said Wang Binghua, chairman of State Power, in a news release.

SPIC is one of the top five power generation groups in China, with a total installed capacity of 107.4 GW. SPIC operates in the industries of coal, aluminum, logistics, finance, environmental protection and high technology. It has a presence in 35 countries and regions abroad, including Australia, Chile, Malta, Japan, Brazil, Turkey and Vietnam.