AXA Private Equity portfolio company Kallista has acquired Poweo’s operational French wind farms from VERBUND, Austria’s leading electricity company.
This latest investment strengthens Kallista’s position in the French renewable energy market and underlines the continued support of AXA Private Equity for its industrial partner. This acquisition increases the number of wind farms operated by Kallista in France from 19 to 29 and its installed capacity from 194 MW to 296MW, corresponding to the annual electricity household consumption of a city the size of Lyon (240 000 households), making it the leading non-integrated wind energy producer France.
Today’s transaction was completed with the support of AXA Private Equity’s infrastructure team.
Mathias Burghardt, Head of Infrastructure at AXA Private Equity, commented: “We are proud to have helped Kallista reach this new stage of its development and further strengthen its position as a major player in the French renewable energy market. It also serves to highlight our growing foothold in the European renewable energy space, where AXA Private Equity is now a recognized leader in France and Italy.”
Frédéric Roche, CEO of Kallista, says: “Kallista now ranks 4th in terms of onshore installed wind capacity in France after GDF, EDF and Iberdrola. Our platform has become the leading non-integrated wind energy producer. The acquisition also adds another wind region to our current portfolio (Champagne/Lorraine), which fits perfectly with our wind diversification strategy.”
The renewable energy platform developed in France is complemented by TRE & Partners, a company set up by AXA Private Equity in Italy in 2007 with the Tozzi Group, which currently operates close to 350MW of wind and hydroelectric power. The group has just completed the construction of 38MW solar farms in Southern Italy.
