Paris, April 2024 – Astris Finance congratulates its client See You Sun, a leading French solar PV rooftop developer, for the successful closing of a EUR 46m capital raise.
See You Sun was founded in 2017 by former Langa managers, with the ambition to provide mobility solutions combined with solar PV rooftop projects. The company raised EUR 12m in 2021 to finance the development of the mobility business. In the past 3 years, See You Sun’s solar PV rooftop pipeline (small rooftop with a capacity below 500kwc) increased rapidly thanks to the favorable Feed-in Tariff (FiT) scheme currently in place, as well as a successful partnering strategy with local authorities.
This latest capital raise, secured through a combination of financial instruments, will allow the company to fund its development pace of c. 130MW/year. The raise was subscribed by two existing investors, Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations, the leading French state-owned banking group, and Demeter, a European investor specialized in energy transition.
Astris Finance acted as exclusive financial advisor to See You Sun. This is our third closing in the French PV rooftop sector this year -- and a testimony to our strong M&A sell-side activity in the European renewable energy sector, where we are currently advising on no less than 11 transactions.
March 2024 - Astris congratulates its client Tenergie for the successful closing of a c. EUR 107m debt financing of PV rooftop projects located in France
Paris, March 2024 - We are very pleased to announce the closing of the Tenfi IV project in which we assisted Tenergie, a French leading IPP and long-standing client of Astris in France, in the c. EUR 107m financing of a French portfolio of 331 solar PV rooftop assets with an individual capacity below 500kWp and an aggregate capacity of c. 85 MWp.
The assets, which benefit from 20y FiTs with EDF and take advantage of an optimized FiT price for small rooftops secured once the grid connection is requested, will reach COD over the next 18 months.
The transaction was arranged and financed by Credit Agricole, CIC and BPI France.
Astris acted as exclusive financial advisor to Tenergie.
This financing is another milestone in our long-standing relationship with Tenergie, and an additional French PV rooftop credential in our extensive track record.
March 2024 - Astris Finance congratulates its client Enfinity Global on the successful holdco financing of a 134 MW solar portfolio in Italy
Madrid, March 2024 - We are pleased to announce the closing of a 7-year €25 million holdco financing to an Enfinity Global assetco, for the construction of a 134 MW solar portfolio in the region of Lazio (Italy). Enfinity Global is a leading renewable energy IPP with presence in the US, Europe and Asia.
The portfolio consists of four large-scale solar power plants currently under construction. It is scheduled to commission progressively starting in Q2 2024. Once operational, the portfolio will generate 225 GWh of clean energy annually, contracted with Statkraft through a 10-year power purchase agreement. This will allow to supply power to 85,000 Italian households while offsetting 91,500 tons of CO2 emissions.
The holdco financing was provided by Sienna Investment Managers, a pan-European multi-expertise asset manager.
Astris Finance acted as exclusive financial advisor to Enfinity Global. This closing is a testimony to Astris’s premier position in renewable energy financings in Europe and to its continuing expansion into the Italian market.
March 2024 - Astris Finance congratulates its clients CIP and Arjun on the successful refinancing of the 487 MW Monegros wind portfolio in Spain
Madrid, March 2024 - We are pleased to announce the closing of a €383.5 million refinancing of a 487MW operational onshore wind portfolio located in Aragon (Spain). Astris advised Danish Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (“CIP”), one of the world's largest dedicated fund managers in greenfield renewable energy investments with over €25 bn raised, and Arjun Infrastructure Partners (“Arjun”), an independent asset management firm focused on mid-market infrastructure and energy investment, jointly the “Sponsors”.
This innovative transaction allowed the Sponsors to improve the existing financing in terms of structure, leverage and cash flow providing long-term stability for this landmark transaction, which involves one of the largest long-term PPAs in Iberia. The financing was provided by a syndicate of seven local and international banks (ABN, BBVA, BNP, Rabobank, Caixabank, Sabadell and Bankinter), showing outstanding market support to the transaction and its Sponsors.
The financing consists of a €331.7 million non-recourse, fully amortizing senior debt facility, €34 million of letter of credit facilities, and a €17.8 million of debt service reserve facility (the “Facilities”). The Facilities are deployed in accordance with the Green Loan Principles.
Astris Finance acted as exclusive financial advisor to CIP and Arjun. This transaction is a testimony to Astris’s position as the lead independent advisor for debt renewable transactions in Iberia, and to the strong relationship forged with top tier players in the renewable space globally.
CIP Partner Florian Küster said: ”We would like to thank the lenders and the advisors involved for successfully completing this transaction. The closing of the green loan financing marks another important milestone for our Monegros’s investment which has generated attractive and stable long-term returns for our investors and made a meaningful contribution towards Europe’s green transition.”
Arjun Head of Asset Management Julian Skinner said: “We are delighted to have successfully completed this transaction with a strong pool of banks together with our advisors and our long-standing partner CIP. Thank you to all those involved, and we look forward to future collaborations as we work to facilitate the realisation of Europe’s clean energy goals.”
December 2023 - Astris Finance Congratulates Q ENERGY France for the Successful Sale of a 73.2 MWp Solar PV and Wind Portfolio Located in France
Paris, December 2023 - Astris congratulates its client Q ENERGY France (formerly RES France), a leading French developer fully owned by Hanwha Solutions, for the successful sale of a 73.2MW solar PV and wind portfolio (the “Portfolio”) composed of 4 projects located in France. The Portfolio has been acquired by ERG, a leading Italian independent renewable energy producer.
The Portfolio encompasses two operational solar PV farms with a combined installed capacity of 20.4 MWp, a 28.8 MWp solar PV project under construction and a 24 MW wind farm in the final phase of commissioning, following a recent repowering. The total annual estimated energy production of the portfolio stands at around 125 GWh, or the equivalent of 64 kilotons of CO2 emissions avoided.
The two PV plants in operation and the wind farm benefit from a tariff regime supported by a 20-year CfD (contract for difference), while the production of the third solar project will be sold under a 15-year PPA with a leading French retail company. All Portfolio assets will be selling their production on the spot market for a period of up to 18 months from COD before the CfD’s kick in, pursuant to the Emergency Measures announced by the French Government in the course of the summer 2022.
Astris Finance acted as exclusive financial advisor to Q ENERGY France – an engagement that followed the debt raising advisory mandate for the Portfolio successfully closed in May 2023. This achievement further demonstrates Astris’ premier position in the European renewable energy M&A market where Astris is currently handling 11 transactions across 5 countries.
December 2023 - Astris congratulates its client Celeo Redes on the closing of a USD 75m bridge facility to fund a transmission line in Peru
Washington DC, December 2023 - Astris Finance acted as financial advisor to Puerto Maldonado Transmisora De Energía, S.A.C., a wholly owned SPV of the Spanish group Celeo Redes, in the upsizing and extension of the existing bridge facility with DNB Bank. This extension comes on the heels of the recently awarded transmission line project Piura Nueva – Frontera to Celeo in July 2023 by the state-funded ProInversion. This new transmission line will be Celeo’s third project in Peru, alongside the transmission line Puerto Maldonado – Iberia and the Valle del Chira substation; the two original projects for which the existing Bridge Facility was in place.
The upsizing of the Bridge facility increased the total amount to US$75 million. The uses will be meant to cover all necessary development and construction costs for the three transmission assets until long term financing is in place. The Bridge Loan's maturity date was also extended until 2026, to allow additional timing due to the newly awarded Piura Nueva – Frontera project.
New Piura Nueva – Frontera Transmission Line
The Project is part of the “Proyecto Integral de Interconexión Eléctrica Perú-Ecuador”, which will connect substations located in either side of the Peru and Ecuador border. The total length will be 550km: 280km will correspond to Ecuador and 270km to Peru. The Project consists of the second part of the Peruvian section: Substation Piura Nueva–Frontera. The first section: Substation La Niña–Substation Piura Nueva is under construction.
December 2023 - Astris Finance congratulates its client Enfinity Global on the successful financing of a 101 MW solar portfolio in Italy
Madrid, December 2023 - We are pleased to announce the closing of a €118 million financing for the construction of 101 MW in four utility-scale solar power plants located in the region of Lazio (Italy), which are expected to become operational in 2024. Astris has advised Enfinity Global, a leader in renewable energy. The company owns a portfolio of 20 GW of renewable energy and storage projects in different stages of development.
This unique and innovative financing brings several important benefits for Enfinity Global in terms of structure, leverage, and cash flow stability. UniCredit, BayernLB, and Siemens Financial Services through Siemens Bank have acted as mandated lead arrangers for each project financing through a club deal structure. The financing will provide €77 million of non-recourse senior debt, €41 million of VAT financing, and LC facilities for PPAs and PV modules.
Astris Finance acted as exclusive financial advisor to Enfinity Global Inc. This closing is a testimony of both Astris’ premier position in renewable energy financings in Europe and its successful expansion into the Italian market.
December 2023 - Astris Advises Valorem in Setting Up a Strategic Partnership with Banque des Territoires
Paris, December 2023 - Astris Finance congratulates its client VALOREM, a leading French independent renewable energy producer, for the closing of a long-term partnership agreement with Banque des Territoires, the investment arm of State-owned Caisse des Dépôts.
The partnership consists in setting up a joint investment platform named "Calypso", owned 51% by VALOREM and 49% by Banque des Territoires. Calypso‘s initial objective is to invest in a 500 MW portfolio of solar and wind power assets in France by 2027, representing an annual production of more than 1.1 TWh – i.e., the yearly electricity consumption of c. 500,000 urban dwellers.
Arnaud Germain, co-head of Europe at Astris, said: “This project is a great achievement for our client VALOREM, completed just before year-end! We would like to thank VALOREM’s CEO Jean-Yves Grandidier and his team for their continuing trust in Astris.”
Astris acted as exclusive financial advisor to VALOREM. This landmark transaction further demonstrates Astris’s premier position in the European renewable sector, where we have closed 5 similar AssetCo transactions totaling 7 GW+ of solar and wind projects.
October 2023 - Astris congratulates its client Urbasolar, the leading French solar power producer owned by Swiss utility Axpo, for the successful closing of a c. EUR 140m greenfield debt financing
October 2023 - Astris Finance congratulates its client Urbasolar, the leading French solar power producer owned by Swiss utility Axpo, for the successful closing of a c. EUR 140m greenfield debt financing.
Project Galilée comprises a c. 170 MWp portfolio of solar assets in France, featuring either 20-year CfD contracts or 15-year CPPA contracts. All these assets are owned 100% by Urbasolar and are still under construction.
The signing of the financing facilities occurred in June 2023.
This transaction, on which Astris Finance acted as exclusive financial advisor, marks our fifth successful closing with Urbasolar in the past four years. Additionally, we are currently advising Urbasolar on transactions located in France, Poland, Spain, and the Dominican Republic.
June 2023 - Astris Finance congratulates its client RP Global on the successful sale of a 41 MW solar PV portfolio in Portugal
Madrid, June 2023 – We are pleased to announce the closing of Project Luso, the sale by European developer RP Global of a solar portfolio to a Portuguese-based independent fund manager active in the infrastructure and energy sector. The closing took place in June 2023.
RP Global is a large-scale developer with 35+ years of experience in the renewable energy sector and a strong presence in Europe. Astris advised RP Global on the sale of a 41 MW portfolio of small-size solar PV projects known as Unidades de Pequena Produção (UPPs) in Portugal.
There is significant pressure to implement more installed renewable capacity in Portugal, in order to meet the European targets. This has led to an increasing number of transactions in which local developers syndicate or fully divest their stake in their development portfolio to financial or strategic investors, typically at the “Ready-to-Build" stage (RtB).
The Portuguese market is particularly suited to this type of partnership, given the high local hurdles that must be overcome to bring projects to RtB, especially in terms of land availability, permitting processes and grid access.
This transaction further enhances Astris’s strong track record in the renewable sector in Portugal, where we have been advising on four equity and financing transactions over the last 12 months.
Astris Finance acted as exclusive financial advisor to RP Global.
September 2022 – Astris Finance Congratulates its Client Fotowatio Renewable Ventures (FRV) on the Successful Greenfield Financing of a 123MW Solar Portfolio in Spain
September 2022 – We are pleased to announce the closing of the Carmonita Norte Cluster financing in which Astris advised FRV, a leading Spanish developer with a significant footprint in the global renewable space, in connection with the financing of a 123MW solar portfolio composed of 3 green field projects located in Spain.
Once the plants are operational, project revenues will benefit from a long-term PPA. This portfolio is part of a larger set of Solar PV ground-mounted assets, currently at financing stage.
This new financing brings several important benefits for FRV in terms of structure, leverage, and stability of cash flow to shareholders. The transaction was arranged and financed by ING, MUFG and Santander Corporate & Investment Banking which provided the +80M€ senior financing facilities.
Astris Finance acted as exclusive financial advisor to FRV.