Canada's Brookfield buys UK firm Banks Group's renewable energy unit

Oct 3 (Reuters) - Canadian investment firm Brookfield is buying the renewable energy division of Banks Group, the UK-based firm whose businesses also include mining and transport said on Tuesday.

The Financial Times, which first reported the news, said the deal was worth about $1 billion, citing people with knowledge of the matter.

The Banks Group's statement did not have a deal value, and a Brookfield spokesperson declined to comment on transaction details.

The Banks Renewables unit operates 11 onshore wind farms across Scotland and the north of England and has other projects for solar and wind in development.

The deal comes amid a lack of interest among bidders for renewable energy projects in the UK, despite subsidy auctions by the British government, owing to supply chain disruptions, rising project costs and competition.

In September, Brookfield and French lender Societe Generale had announced a private debt fund with initial seed funding of 2.5 billion euros ($2.62 billion) that would be directed towards the power, transportation and finance sectors, among others. ($1 = 0.9558 euros) (Reporting by Evelyn Nikhila S in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza)