July 2021 – Astris Finance is pleased to announce the c. € 25m debt closing for the 20.7MW Debnica Kaszubska windfarm project in Poland.
With 6 Vestas V126, 3.45 MW turbines and a total installed capacity of 20.7MW, the Debnica Kaszubska wind farm project (the “Project”) is the second wind farm fully developed by Uriel Renovables (“Uriel”), a company dedicated to the development, construction and operation of renewable energy projects in Europe and Latin America. The senior debt facilities were provided by commercial bank DNB and export credit agency EKF.
The Project has secured a 15-year Contract for Difference (CfD) through the 2019 renewable auction organized by Poland’s Energy Regulatory Office and it is expected to start production in Q1 2022. The Project also benefits from a short-term PPA with Axpo for part of its merchant production during the first 3 years of operations.
Astris acted as exclusive advisor to Uriel on the senior debt raising. Astris’s involvement with Uriel in Poland began with the renewable auctions of 2018 and 2019, when Astris advised Uriel on the design of a winning auction strategy. Since 2018, Astris has developed a significant expertise in the Polish renewable energy sector and has secured more than five financing and M&A mandates.
July 2021 – Astris Finance congratulates its client, the Paris-based private equity investor Omnes, for the refinancing and subsequent divestment of a 80 MW wind and solar portfolio in France.
The portfolio consists of five wind farms with an aggregate installed capacity of 58MW and two photovoltaic power plants with an aggregate installed capacity of 22MW. The seven assets are in operation and benefit from the French incentive tariff system.
FPCI Capenergie 3, a fund managed by Omnes Capital and the original owner of the portfolio, sold a 100% interest in the portfolio to Italian renewable group ERG. Shortly before the sale, Omnes had implemented a portfolio refinancing, raising more than 100m of senior debt from La Banque Postale and Crédit Agricole Unifergie.
Astris acted as exclusive advisor to Omnes on both the senior debt refinancing and the equity divestment.
June 2021 – Astris congratulates its client Celeo on the successful closing of the Aries Solar Termoelectrica (ASTE) refinancing transaction.
Astris Finance is pleased to announce the closing by Celeo of the refinancing of two brownfield concentrated solar power plants (“CSP”) with a total combined capacity of 99.8MW in Spain. The plants have been operational for over 8 years. Celeo (owned by Spanish contractor Elecnor and Dutch pension fund APG) is a fully integrated investment and asset management platform focused on solar photovoltaic (201 MW), CSP plants (150 MW) and transmission lines (5,776 km) in three core regions (Spain, Brazil and Chile).
The transaction included the refinancing of the two CSP plants for a total senior debt amount of circa €350m in two term loan facilities: MEAG provided the institutional tranche and Banco Santander, BBVA, CACIB, ING and Bankinter acting as Mandated Lead Arrangers provided the commercial bank tranche.
Astris Finance and Banco Santander acted jointly as financial advisors to Celeo.
May 2021 – Astris Finance is pleased to announce the successful refinancing of a 342 MW portfolio of 10 Spanish wind farms owned by Mirova, Engie and Forestalia.
The transaction consisted in the refinancing of the bridge loan provided by commercial banks to fund the construction of the wind projects. Once the projects reached COD, the Sponsors decided to refinance the bridge loan with a long-term, non-recourse senior debt financing, provided by 5 commercial institutions. The wind farms have a 10-year PPA with Engie for the majority of their production.
Abanca Corporación Bancaria, Banco Sabadell, Bankinter, Société Générale sucursal en España and Unicredit Bank provided the c. 211 m€ financing facilities, comprising a senior debt term facility, a senior debt reserve facility and the required decommissioning and PPA L/Cs.
Astris Finance acted as exclusive financial advisor to Mirova, Engie and Forestalia.
May 2021 - Astris congratulates UNITe for the successful closing of the Springs&Falls transaction
Astris Finance is pleased to announce the successful refinancing of a renewable portfolio in France, owned by French IPP UNITe.
The transaction consisted in the refinancing of a portfolio of French renewable assets, including three windfarms providing 23 MW of power and 27 hydro-electric assets producing 33 MW. Each asset has a PPA contract with EDF for all or part of its production. The projects are expected to produce 180 GWh of green energy, which is equivalent to the annual consumption of 38,000 households.
BPI France and Société Générale provided the EUR 68m senior financing facilities. This transaction enabled UNITe to refinance 32 loans provided by 9 different lenders, a leasing for one of the hydro assets and a EuroPP debt at Sponsor level. In addition, 10 swaps were unwound concurrently for the anticipated repayment of the existing debt.
Astris Finance acted as exclusive financial advisor to UNITe.
May 2021 – Astris congratulates Hexagon and TTR for the closing of the financing of Sud Marne, France’s largest onshore wind project (122 MW).
May 2021 – Astris congratulates Hexagon and TTR for the closing of the financing of Sud Marne, France’s largest onshore wind project (122 MW).
Hexagon Renewable Energy SA, an independent power producer incorporated in December 2020, managed by TTR and owned by a consortium of investors – Crédit Mutuel Capital Privé, la Banque des Territoires, Amundi Transition Energétique, Generali Global Infrastructure, Mirova and TTR – announces the closing of the financing of the Sud Marne project located in Eastern France. Wholly owned by Hexagon, the Sud Marne Project will be the France’s largest onshore wind project (122 MW).
The project has raised no-recourse senior debt arranged and subscribed by BPCE Group (BPCE Energeco and Caisse d’Épargne et de Prévoyance Grand Est Europe) and La Banque Postale, as well as a VAT revolving facility provided by BPCE Energeco. La Banque Postale and Natixis also acted as hedging banks.
Energy sale is secured for 20 years through the award in 2019 of a contract for difference with EDF-OA through its participation in the 2017/S 083-161885 request for proposal. The electricity production of the Sud Marne project is equivalent to the annual consumption of 151,200 households and will avoid the production of 118,000 tCO2 per year.
Energy production is planned to start in January 2023. The project consists of 30 4MW and 4.2MW turbines supplied by Vestas. Construction works have begun in May 2021.
Astris Finance acted as exclusive financial advisor to Hexagon and TTR in the structuring and closing of the transaction.
February 2021 - Astris congratulates its client DIF for the successful closing of the project "Winch-P" in Italy
February 2021 – Astris is pleased to announce the sale of a 10 MW solar brownfield portfolio owned by DIF and located in southern Italy.
The portfolio comprises 10 operational ground-mounted solar assets, 100% owned by the Ampere Equity Fund, which is managed by DIF Capital Partners (DIF), an independent infrastructure fund manager. The installed capacity of the assets ranges from 888 kWp to 999 kWp, resulting in a total installed capacity of 9.7 MWp. All assets were commissioned in 2011, providing more than 9 years of operational track record, and benefit from feed-in-tariff contracts with Gestore dei Servizi Energetici. They are remunerated under the Quarto Conto Energia incentive scheme and the contracts provide fixed, non-indexed prices covering the entire production capacity.
The portfolio has been acquired by Tages Capital SGR, an asset management company, specialized in renewable energy infrastructure and part of the Tages Group.
Astris served as financial advisor to DIF alongside ValeCap. Astris has a long-standing relationship with DIF, for which it has acted as exclusive advisor on several other M&A transactions and a senior debt portfolio refinancing over the last couple of years.
December 2020 - Astris congratulates its client Uriel Renovables for the successful closing of the project "Ventus" in Poland
December 2020 – Astris Finance is pleased to announce the debt and equity closing of the 145MW, €173 m Bialy Bor windfarm project in Poland.
With 42 Vestas V126, 3.45 MW turbines and a total installed capacity of 145MW, the Bialy Bor wind farm project (the “Project”) will be one of Poland’s largest onshore wind farms and will provide clean energy to over 100,000 households. It is expected to start production in Q1 2022. The Project has secured a 15-year Contract for Difference (CfD) through the 2019 renewable auction organized by Poland’s Energy Regulatory Office.
The Project was developed by Spanish developer Uriel Renovables ("Uriel"), a company dedicated to the development, construction and operation of renewable energy projects in Europe and Latin America. The senior debt facilities were provided by commercial bank DNB and export credit agency EKF. Shortly before financial close, a fund advised by Mirova, a French asset manager dedicated to sustainable investing (including investing in energy transition infrastructure) and an affiliate of Natixis Investment Managers, acquired a majority stake in the Project from Uriel. These transactions are a testimony to the growing interest from leading European players in the rapidly developing Polish renewable energy market.
Astris acted as exclusive advisor to Uriel on both the senior debt financing and the equity divestment. Astris’s involvement with Uriel in Poland began with the renewable auctions of 2018 and 2019, when Astris advised Uriel on the design of a winning auction strategy. Since 2018, Astris has developed a significant expertise in the Polish renewable energy sector and has secured five financing and M&A mandates.
December 2020 - Astris congratulates FS on placing its inaugural 144a bond.
December 2020 – Astris Finance is pleased to announce the closing of a $550 million 5-year bond by a Luxembourg affiliate of FS Agrisolutions Industria de Biocombustíveis Ltda (“FS”) which marks its first transaction in the US 144a market. The green bond was placed by Morgan Stanley as sole bookrunner and the proceeds will be used to repay existing project-finance debt and pay transaction expenses. The bond settled on December 15, 2020.
FS is a leading low-carbon biofuel producer in Brazil and also produces animal nutrition products for sale in the area of its headquarters in Mato Grosso state. Astris has advised FS and its leading shareholders Summit Agricultural Group and Tiger Infrastructure Partners since 2017 with respect to positioning in the financial markets, capital structure optimization and overall financial strategy. Our work led to a series of financing transactions which culminated in December’s successful bond issuance. Compared to the prior project finance structure, the bond’s traditional high yield covenant package will grant the business more flexibility to execute upon its business plan.
“We were delighted to assist FS in closing out 2020 on such a high note,” said Tobey Collins, Astris Head of Energy, Americas. Justin Kirchhoff, President of Summit Ag Investors, complemented “Completing this bond offering opens a new chapter for the FS business and we appreciate Astris Finance’s advice over the evolution of our financing structure in the last couple of years.”
Summit Agricultural Group is a diversified agribusiness operator and investment manager with operations in the United States and Brazil. Summit deploys capital across the agricultural supply chain with a particular focus at the intersection of agriculture and renewable energy. For more information, visit: www.summitag.com
Tiger Infrastructure Partners is a middle-market private equity firm that invests in growing infrastructure platforms. Tiger Infrastructure targets investments in communications, energy transition, transportation, and related sectors, primarily located in North America and Europe. For more information, visit www.tigerinfrastructure.com.
December 2020 - Astris Advises Grupo T-Solar on the Sale of Two Solar PV Plants in Peru.
December 2020 - Astris Finance is pleased to announce the closing of the Sunlight transaction, consisting of the sale by Grupo T-Solar of a majority stake in two photovoltaic plants in Peru totaling 44 MWp, GTS Majes and GTS Repartición. Astris Finance acted as exclusive financial advisor to Grupo T-Solar.
Founded in 2006, Grupo T-Solar is dedicated to the promotion of renewable energy, particularly photovoltaic solar plants. The group has developed a renewable energy platform with a total net capacity of close to 400 MWp distributed across Europe, Asia and the Americas. Between 2010 and 2015, Astris has advised T-Solar on five financing deals in Peru, Italy, Japan and India.
This sale transaction involved teams across Astris’ offices in Europe and the Americas who worked in coordination with the Grupo T Solar’s team to conduct a competitive sale process featuring the plants’ unique technical elements, solid shareholder structure and strong refinancing potential. The process resulted in the selection of the minority shareholder, Japanese group Sojitz Corporation, to acquire the 51% stake owned by Grupo T-Solar.
Back in 2012, Astris Finance advised Grupo T-Solar in structuring the financing of these two PV plants at greenfield stage through an innovative partial credit guarantee structure, at the time the first utility scale solar project in Peru. In 2014, two years post COD, Astris advised Grupo T-Solar in the divestment of a 49% stake to Sojitz Corporation. The recently announced transaction allows Grupo T-Solar to close the loop and fully monetize the value of these attractive assets. It demonstrates once again Astris’s ability to advise sponsors throughout the life cycle of their assets.
December 2020 – Astris congratulates its client Urbasolar for the closing of the largest solar PV greenfield financing of the year in France.
December 2020 - We are very pleased to announce the financial closing of project Atlas, in which Astris advised Urbasolar in connection with the financing of 40 solar assets in France, totaling an installed capacity of c. 260 MW.
This portfolio of 40 assets is composed of a mix of ground-mounted, shade house, rooftop and floating structures. Each asset will enter into a 20-year CfD or FiT contract with EDF OA and will benefit from a price bonus due to the involvement of crowdfunding investors.
BPI France, CEPAC and La Banque Postale provided the 250 M€ senior financing facilities.
Most of these projects were developed in partnership with French local authorities and private stakeholders who are very sensitive to the impact of renewable energies on climate transition. The projects are expected to produce 310 GWh of green energy, i.e. the equivalent of the annual consumption of 66.000 households.
Astris acted as exclusive financial advisor to Urbasolar on this transaction.
Since the beginning of the year, Astris Finance has been advising on greenfield renewable projects in Europe for an aggregate project finance debt of c. 1 bn€ and a total new solar, wind or hydro assets of over one hundred.
November 2020 - Astris Finance advises Sonnedix in setting up a strategic partnership with Amundi.
November 2020 - Astris Finance congratulates its client Sonnedix, the global independent solar power producer (IPP) for the signing of the Solen Transaction, which consisted in designing and creating a long-term partnership with Amundi, a leading European asset manager (the “Partnership”). The Partnership has taken the form of a joint venture managed by Amundi Energies Vertes (AEV), a renewable infrastructure investment vehicle designed for retail investors, for the purpose of investing in the European solar PV market.
The initial transaction, expected to close before the end of 2020, consists of a minority investment by AEV in a mix of operating assets across several European countries and will give AEV further access to new growth investments within this region, along with Sonnedix, a key player in the European solar PV market, with an asset base exceeding 900 MW.
The agreement consolidates Sonnedix’s position and rapid growth across European markets where it started operations in 2009 and allows Amundi to get systematic access to low risk, renewable energy projects in the context of the launch of their green infrastructure product for retail customers.
Axel Thiemann, CEO of Sonnedix, said: “Our partnership with AEV not only highlights our long-term commitment to our European markets, but also to the solar power industry as a whole, demonstrating our active role in pushing the energy transition forward. We are grateful to Astris for bringing this transaction to us and helping seal this important partnership with Amundi.”
Arnaud Germain, head of France at Astris, said: “This project is a great achievement for our client. We are happy we played an instrumental role in the design and implementation of this partnership. This is the fifth European transaction arranged by Astris for Sonnedix in as many years.”
Fabrice Henry, CEO of Astris Finance, added: “We knew Sonnedix could use competitive long-term capital to fuel their European growth, and we knew Amundi was looking for a reliable channel to originate a steady flow of de-risked European renewable assets for their retail investors. This is a great match, a clear win-win situation.”
Astris acted as exclusive financial advisor to Sonnedix.
Over the past 4 years, Astris Finance has raised over 4.5 bn € of project finance debt and executed 17 large scale M&A transactions for a total enterprise value of c.9 bn € in the European renewable energy space.
November 20 - Astris is pleased to announce the successful closing for the financing of a 160 MW greenfield wind portfolio in northeast Brazil
November 2020 - Astris Finance is pleased to announce the closing of the financings in connection with Terra Santa and Maral wind projects, consisting in the raising of a R$423m (~US$76m) financing for a 159.7 MW greenfield wind portfolio located in Rio Grande do Norte, northeast Brazil (the “Portfolio”).
As financial advisor, Astris assisted Total Eren with a carefully crafted project financing structure with Banco do Nordeste do Brasil (BNB), which was the sole lender of this transaction. As guarantee to BNB a limited/non-recourse letter of credit for the benefit of lender was provided by a syndicate of three commercial banks active in Brazil.
November 2020 - Astris congratulates Arroyo Energy on closing two refinancings in Latin America
November 2020 – Astris Finance is pleased to announce the closing of two refinancing transactions with the Arroyo Energy Group (“Arroyo”). The first one for the Pemcorp gas-fired power plant in the northern region of Mexico; the second one for a renewable portfolio (one solar and one wind asset) in Chile.
The Pemcorp refinancing in the amount of USD 195 Mn is backed by contracted revenues. The 142 MW power plant (130 MW of installed capacity + a 12 MW battery system as a backup) sells its energy through a private PPA to an international car manufacturer in the state of Nuevo Leon, Mexico. The deal was closed in September with SMBC and Natixis as Joint Book-Runners and ING as Mandated Lead Arranger.
The Chilean portfolio included El Arrayán (115 MW of wind) and Conejo (122 MW of solar). The refinancing was executed at the holdco level in the amount of USD 429 Mn including ancillary DSR LC and working capital facilities. The facilities are backed by contracted revenues with Minera los Pelambres, a Chilean mining concern within the Antofogasta group). The financing closed in October and was led by CA-CIB and SMBC as Joint Bookrunners as well as MUFG, Soc-Gen as MLAs, and Caixabank, and Sabadell.
Astris served as financial advisor to Arroyo in both transactions, actively participating in the optimization of the structure of the refinancings as well as the key terms and conditions of the debt. The refinancings generated value for Arroyo and its investors by providing additional financial flexibility.
Arroyo Energy is an independent investment manager focused on power and energy infrastructure assets in the U.S., Mexico and Chile. This is Astris’ third closing with Arroyo over the last two years.
November 2020 - Astris Finance advises Ardian and Solarpack on a Brownfield Refinancing of Three Solar PV Assets in Peru
November 2020 - Astris Finance congratulates its clients Ardian and Solarpack on the strategic refinancing of the Tacna, Panamericana and Moquegua assets, unleashing free cash for future investments at Ardian and Solarpack level while further enhancing equity returns on the three existing assets.
Astris served as exclusive financial advisor for the refinancing process which consisted of three separate asset level facilities for a total non-recourse, fully-amortizing debt of USD 212.6 million and non-recourse debt service reserve letters of credit of USD 12.5 million. The refinancing was closed with three international commercial banks, BNP Paribas, Societe Generale and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation. The original lender to the three assets was the Development Finance Corporation, previously known as the Overseas Private Investment Corporation.
“Astris Finance was involved in the original financings for these assets when the renewable sector in Peru was relatively new so we are honored to have also participated with Ardian and Solarpack in the recent commercial refinancings, demonstrating the strong market appetite for the country and the sector,” commented Tobey Collins, Astris’ Head of Energy for the Americas. Ignacio Artacoz, Executive Chairman of Solarpack, said “We are pleased with the value for our shareholders created by these refinancings” and Emilio Andrade, Director in the Ardian Infrastructure team, complemented “In spite of challenging market conditions in 2020, we were able to close this accretive transaction for key assets in our LatAm portfolio.”
The refinancings extended the debt maturity by 2 to 4 years depending on the asset while taking advantage of current interest rates levels and additional competitive economic terms from the new Lenders. The transaction achieved an initial closing in November and will be fully closed by year-end.
August 2020 - Astris advises Valorem on two portfolio refinancing transactions.
August 2020 - Astris Finance is pleased to announce the closing by Valorem of the refinancing of two renewable portfolios. Valorem is one of the largest French renewable IPP’s with more than 1.7 GW of renewable energy assets developed. Astris Finance acted as exclusive financial advisor to Valorem.
Project Elcano consisted in the refinancing of a 165 MW portfolio of 11 onshore wind assets and 2 PV assets in operation located in France, for a total debt amount of €300m. Société Générale, Groupe Crédit Agricole (including CACIB and Unifergie) and BPI acted as Mandated Lead Arrangers.
Project Clarence consisted in the refinancing of mini-hydro assets located in Guadeloupe, France. The Portfolio comprises 16 run-of-the-river plants in operation for a total capacity of 10.4 MW. The total debt amounts to €52m. La Banque Postale and BPCE acted as Mandated Lead Arrangers.
The two refinancing transactions were implemented in the context of the unfolding COVID crisis and reached successful closing in a very short time frame. The new financings present several important benefits for Valorem: maturity extension, lower debt service coverage ratio, replacement of the existing DSRA by an unfunded DSRF, and significant reduction of financing costs.
Over the past 4 years, Astris Finance has raised over 4 bn € of project finance debt and executed 15 large scale M&A transactions for a total enterprise value of c.8 bn € in the European renewable energy space.
August 2020 - Astris advises TSE on the financing of a 95 MWp greenfield solar PV portfolio and on the subsequent sale of a majority stake in this portfolio.
August 2020 - Astris Finance is pleased to announce the closing of the Aton transaction, consisting in (i) the raising of a €60m financing for a 95 MWp greenfield solar PV portfolio located in France (the “Portfolio”) and (ii) the subsequent sale of a majority stake in the Portfolio.
Astris Finance acted as exclusive financial advisor to TSE, a French renewable energy developer (the “Sponsor”).
The projects of the Portfolio benefit from a 20-year contract for difference (CfD) awarded through CRE tender processes, with competitive tariff levels.
Astris conducted the debt and equity processes in parallel: we designed a carefully crafted financing structure and worked with La Banque Postale and BPI as Mandated Lead Arrangers; at the same time, we conducted a wide, competitive sale process, which led to the selection of a fund managed by Crédit Mutuel Capital Privé as financial investor. Both processes took place in the context of the unfolding COVID crisis and reached successful closing within a very short time frame.
May 2020 – Astris Finance advises KKR on the sale of their 33.33% stake in Acciona Energia Internacional
Astris is pleased to announce the signing of the Alexandra transaction, consisting in the sale of the 33.33% stake held by investment funds managed by KKR in Acciona Energía Internacional (“AEI”).
AEI was established in 2014 and is a partnership between KKR and Acciona. It holds a portfolio of 52 onshore wind and solar assets in operation with a net installed capacity of 2.3 GW. The projects are spread over 11 countries and operate under a broad range of remuneration regimes.
The highly competitive process launched in 2019 resulted in the selection of AXA Investment Managers - Real Assets (“AXA IM - Real Assets”) and Acciona S.A. (“Acciona”) to acquire KKR’s participation in AEI. Under the terms of the agreement reached on April 10, 2020, AXA IM - Real Assets will acquire 20% of AEI while Acciona will buy the remaining 13.33%, increasing its stake from 66.67% to 80%.
Astris acted as co-financial advisor to KKR with Credit Suisse and Lazard. Astris was notably in charge of valuation, modeling and due diligence coordination.
This demanding transaction involved different teams across Astris’ offices in Europe, Asia and the Americas working seamlessly on the complex valuation exercise given the structure of the AEI portfolio, including its broad geographical diversification, technology mix, and multi-currency cash flows.
Closing of the transaction is expected to take place in December 2020 after completing regulatory approvals.
Tara Davies, Head of European Infrastructure at KKR, commented: “We chose Astris to advise us on this transaction due to their technical expertise, in-depth knowledge of the global renewable energy markets and their trusted advice. We would like to thank Astris for their help and guidance.”
This is the fifth renewable energy transaction announced by Astris Finance in Europe in the past three months – and the third since the start of the Covid-19 outbreak in March, demonstrating the firm’s ability to find creative and insightful solutions for its clients under challenging circumstances.
Source photos: Acciona
May 2020 – Astris Advises Hanau Investissement on the refinancing of a 24MWp solar PV portfolio
Astris Finance is pleased to announce the closing by Hanau Investissement of the refinancing of a 24MWp fully operational solar PV portfolio located in France.
The PV assets composing the portfolio had been initially financed through separate project finance facilities. The refinancing allowed the Sponsor to extend the maturity, lower debt service coverage ratios, replace the existing DSRA by a DSRF and reduce significantly the financing cost.
The transaction was closed in a short time-frame despite an economic and working environment deeply troubled by the Covid crisis. BPI and Natixis Energeco acted as Mandated Lead Arrangers.
Astris Finance acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Hanau Investissements in the structuring and raising of the € 50m facility.
April 2020 – Astris Congratulates Acofi on the Sale of two French Renewable Energy Portfolios totaling 126 MW
Astris Finance is pleased to announce the successful sale by Acofi Gestion, on behalf of its fund Transition Energétique France, to EOS Holding and Groupe Romande Energie, through its subsidiary Romande Energie France, of two portfolios of renewable energy projects located in France.
The first portfolio is comprised of 4 ground-mounted PV projects of 12 MW each, located in the South West part of France. The second portfolio, with a total capacity of 78 MW is comprised of 3 onshore wind projects totaling 37MW and of ground-mounted PV and BIPV projects totaling 41MW.
Projects entered commercial operation between 2012 and 2017 and benefit from 20-year and 15-year Feed-in Tariffs, respectively for PV projects and Onshore Wind projects, with EDF.
Astris served as exclusive financial advisor to Acofi Gestion and managed the competitive process. The transaction was closed on March 31st, 2020 despite the challenging context.