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.