Blackstone sells German wind farm to China Three Gorges
China Three Gorges Corporation has agreed to buy an 80% interest in one of Germany’s largest offshore wind farms from The Blackstone Group.
The agreement was signed in the presence of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The size of the deal was not disclosed, but the asset was reportedly expected to sell for around $1.8 billion. Several infrastructure funds were linked to the deal, as well as China Guodian Corp, one of the country's five major power producers.
Blackstone held its stake in the Meerwind wind farm through Blackstone Energy Partners and affiliated private equity funds. It teamed up with Windland Energieerzeugungs - owner of the remaining 20% - in 2008 to develop and operate the project, which was expected to cost EUR1.2 billion ($1.35 billion) to build. Blackstone and Windland secured EUR869 million in long-term financing in 2011 and then issued EUR978 million in bonds at the end of last year to refinance the bank debt.
The initial financing was provided by seven commercial lenders alongside EKF, the export credit agency of Denmark, and German public development bank KfW. It is said to have been the first German offshore wind project to be fully financed by private investors and the first to close under the KfW financing program, which is intended to help the country achieve its renewable energy targets. Meerwind was also the first European offshore wind project to be financed through a project bond.
Situated off the German coast in the North Sea, the facility has 80 turbines and a capacity of 288 megawatts, enough to power approximately 360,000 homes. The existing management team, led by CEO Jens Assheuer, will continue to operate the business under China Three Gorges' ownership, according to a statement.
China Three Gorges is a state-owned enterprise that focuses on large-scale hydropower development, having been mandated by the government to build and operate the Three Gorges Dam project. The company also has wind and solar power interests. Total installed capacity passed 50,000 MW in 2014, with aggregate power generation within China of 200.6 terawatt hours.
China Three Gorges posted revenue of RMB63 billion ($9.5 billion) in 2014, up from RMB42.6 billion the previous year, while net profit rose to RMB26 billion from RMB17.6 billion.
More on Europe
Latest News
Asian GPs slow implementation of ESG policies - survey
Asia-based private equity firms are assigning more dedicated resources to environment, social, and governance (ESG) programmes, but policy changes have slowed in the past 12 months, in part due to concerns raised internally and by LPs, according to a...
Singapore fintech start-up LXA gets $10m seed round
New Enterprise Associates (NEA) has led a USD 10m seed round for Singapore’s LXA, a financial technology start-up launched by a former Asia senior executive at The Blackstone Group.
India's InCred announces $60m round, claims unicorn status
Indian non-bank lender InCred Financial Services said it has received INR 5bn (USD 60m) at a valuation of at least USD 1bn from unnamed investors including “a global private equity fund.”
Insight leads $50m round for Australia's Roller
Insight Partners has led a USD 50m round for Australia’s Roller, a venue management software provider specializing in family fun parks.