Munich Re and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co (KKR) have partnered to acquire a 49% equity stake in the existing operating assets of Grupo T-Solar, the largest European solar photovoltaic (PV) power generator. Grupo T-Solar total capex to date for these assets has been EUR1,073m.
The assets being acquired comprise a diversified portfolio of 42 solar PV plants located in Spain (34 plants) and Italy (eight plants) with aggregate installed capacity of 168 MW and a generation capacity of over 250 GWh per year of clean energy. These assets will be housed in a new company named T-Solar Global Operating Assets in which Grupo T-Solar will continue to retain a 51% equity stake and provide management services. MEAG and KKR have also entered into an agreement with Grupo T-Solar that gives the Company the option to acquire new solar plants developed by Grupo T-Solar once they are fully operational.
The timing of this transaction coincides with the restructuring of its concession businesses, a process in which the Isolux Corsan group has taken over the control of Grupo T-Solar. Isolux Corsan is a multinational group specialising in concessions and construction for major infrastructure projects. It has now concentrated all its concession assets (including its holding in Grupo T-Solar) under the umbrella of a single new company, Isolux Infrastructure.
Juan Laso, T-Solar CEO, says: "T-Solar’s mission is to harness the sun’s power to generate clean electricity using photovoltaic technology. We started in 2006 and have grown into the largest European PV power generator. This alliance with highly qualified and experienced investors such as MEAG and KKR is very exciting for us as it enables us to expand our presence in the solar photovoltaic sector and consolidate our position as a leading operator in the renewable energy space. The business plan of the group envisages an increase in its generation capacity from 168 MW to over 500 MW by 2014"
The investment has been done under Munich Re’s investment program "RENT" (Renewable Energy and New Technologies). Munich Re’s asset manager MEAG is responsible for selecting and managing the investments.
Dieter Wolf, MEAG Managing Director, in charge of portfolio management, says: "Renewables are the energy source of tomorrow. We are confident that this is where the future lies, and so we are investing in wind farms, solar farms and new technologies designed to increase generating capacity. Our strategic focus features renewable energies and new technologies — designed to include in our investment portfolio sustainable investments offering attractive returns at an acceptable level of risk. We view this investment as a unique opportunity to partner with both a leading operator in renewable energy and a leading global investment firm."
For KKR, the partnership represents its second, significant European infrastructure investment in renewable energy in just over one month.
"KKR is continuing to develop its infrastructure platform, and we see renewable energy as one of the most promising areas of infrastructure. We also believe that the Spanish renewables sector is currently an attractive investment destination. T-Solar’s plant portfolio comprises core infrastructure assets providing stable and long-term cash flow visibility as well as offering significant growth potential. We continue to be excited about the opportunities we are seeing in the infrastructure space and believe that this investment will complement our recent partnership in the French wind energy sector with Sorgenia," says Jesus Olmos, the European Head of KKR’s infrastructure business. "We are especially pleased to enter into a partnership with the best-in-class solar PV operator in Europe (Grupo T-Solar) and a leading asset manager like MEAG."
