Astris Finance is pleased to announce the closing of the Tesla transaction, which consisted in the advisory to Total Eren in the bid process for the acquisition of Novenergia Holding Company (“Novenergia” or the “Seller”), a platform with more than 650 MW of renewable assets across Europe, and the raising of a EUR 250m acquisition facility.

In November 2018, Total Eren, a leading French-based renewable Independent Power Producer (IPP), was invited to participate in a limited competitive process, and Astris started working immediately on the transaction. Preliminary discussions were held with the Seller by mid-December, a non-binding offer was submitted in February 2019 and the acquisition was completed in April 2019 by Total Eren.

Due to the short timing, Total Eren funded the acquisition with a bridge loan. Thus, in parallel, Astris started working on a financing solution that could allow Total Eren to repay the bridge and optimize the acquisition. Astris performed a market read among a selected number of commercial banks and institutional investors, on the basis of two possible financing alternatives.

A term-sheet was agreed with two banks early April while further discussions were held in parallel. The acquisition facility was subsequently closed in July 2019, thanks to the collaborative work between Astris’ Paris and Madrid offices.

The facility is a 5-year loan for a total amount of EUR 250m, equally shared by BBVA, BNP Paribas, and Natixis.

The acquired platform is composed of wind, solar PV and hydro operating assets that span across Portugal, Italy, Spain, France, Poland, and Bulgaria, adding a layer of complexity to this transaction, due to the range of technologies and geographies. Credit documents were signed on 8 July 2019, and disbursement occurred on 12 July 2019.

Astris Finance acted as the financial advisor to Total Eren on this transaction, both for the acquisition of the assets and the raising of the financing.

Yonatan Shek, VP, Corporate and Business Development at Total Eren, stated: “through this transaction, we successfully finalized a major acquisition which further diversifies our portfolio and substantially expands our presence in Europe. Astris teams’ expertise and in-depth knowledge of the European renewable energy markets have been essential in being able to close a 1bn+ euro transaction in less than 4 months.”