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.
April 2020 - Astris Finance advises Tenergie in raising 90 m€ through an equity partnership with La Banque des Territoires.
Astris Finance is pleased to announce the closing of the Griffin transaction, a 90 m€ share capital increase in Terres d’Energie, an investment vehicle jointly owned by Tenergie Group and Credit Agricole Pyrénées Gascogne, fully subscribed by La Banque des Territoires. Astris Finance acted as exclusive financial advisor to the sponsors on this transaction.
As of today, Terres d’Energies consolidates over 851 solar PV and wind assets in operation representing c.490 MW of installed capacity. Terres d’Energies is the largest vehicle of French brownfield solar PV assets in operation.
Astris is proud to have advised Tenergie Group and Credit Agricole Pyrénées Gascogne on this landmark transaction, which concludes a sequence initiated with the raising of the largest solar refinancing to date in France in July 2019, the Phoenix V transaction, and followed by the structuring of a up to 90 m€ holdco financing brought by Blackrock in December 2019.
Over the past 4 years, Astris Finance has raised over 4 bn € of project finance debt and executed 12 large scale M&A transactions for a total enterprise value of c.7 bn € in the European renewable energy space.
December 2019 - Astris Finance is pleased to announce the closing of the senior debt financing for Energia del Pacifico, majority-owned by Invenergy
The Energia del Pacifico project (“EDP” or "Project”) consists of the development, construction, and operation of a 378MW LNG-to-power plant at the Port of Acajutla in El Salvador. The Project is majority-owned by Invenergy (“Invenergy” or “Sponsor”), a leading privately held global developer and operator of sustainable energy solutions, along with its local partner and original developer, Quantum Energy. Lenders to the Project include the Overseas Private Investment Corporation ("OPIC"), the International Finance Corporation (“IFC”), Finnish Export Credit Ltd (“FEC”), and the Inter-American Investment Corporation (“IDBI”). Astris Finance served as exclusive financial advisor to Invenergy over the multi-year financial structuring process.
This Project is expected to have a high developmental impact in El Salvador through the development of the country’s first LNG-to-power generation facility. As the largest thermal power plant in El Salvador, the Project will help meet increasing electricity demand, adding 30% to the country’s available installed capacity and displacing an equivalent amount of polluting and CO2 intense heavy fuel oil based thermal generation.
The EDP Project and the attendant FSRU (leased by the Project), together, will represent approximately US$ 1 billion of investment dedicated to a country whose credit rating makes for a challenging credit environment. The Project used multi-point contracting structure managed by Invenergy with a total construction period slated to cover a period of two years from the issuance of notice to proceed.
The Project successfully raised $657 million of multi-source limited-recourse financing, consisting of three loans provided by development finance institutions (IFC, OPIC and IDBI), as well as an ECA covered loan with KfW IPEX-Bank as the original lender and facility agent, FEC as the funding provider and the Finnish Export Credit Agency Finnvera guaranteeing the ECA loan. The Lenders are pari-passu in seniority and the total debt collectively covers a period of 18 years door-to-door which is a notable tenor for Central America. The transaction closed in December 2019.
December 2019 - Astris Finance advises Celeo Redes on a Greenfield-Brownfield Portfolio Financing via US Private Placement in Chile
The portfolio of transmission projects in Chile totals more than 550km of transmission lines and 8 substations and consists of one operating asset and two construction assets (CASTE and MATE) to be built over the coming four years. The CASTE project (itself made up of 3 subprojects) is expected to benefit up to 50% of the national population, operating in one of the most densely populated areas of the country and the MATE project (itself made up of 11 subprojects) is expected to benefit 17.6% of the national population.
The portfolio forms part of the national transmission grid in Chile where revenues from the assets are based on availability payments which will be reset after 20 operating years.
Astris Finance served as the exclusive financial advisor to Celeo Redes during the financing process. The financing amounted to USD 365 million which was issued via a private placement, fully subscribed by Allianz Global Investors. The debt has a total tenor of 30 years and a weight average life of over 20 years. This is one of the largest private placements in the region to date and the first at this tenor with a greenfield / brownfield mix. The transaction closed in December 2019.
November 2019 - Astris advises Tenergie on 225 m€ Portfolio Refinancing
Astris Finance is pleased to announce the closing by independent solar power producer Tenergie of the refinancing of a fully operational solar PV portfolio located in France, for a total debt amount of 225 m€.
The refinancing followed the acquisition by Tenergie in August of a portfolio of 2 SPVs with a total installed capacity of 72 MW.
The transaction was closed in a short time-frame, benefiting from the favorable market conditions. La Banque Postale and Société Générale acted as Mandated Lead Arrangers.
Astris Finance acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Tenergie which is one of the largest French Solar IPP with more than 500 MW of solar projects in operation in France.
October 2019 - Astris Advises Sonnedix France on 189 m€ Portfolio Refinancing
Astris Finance is pleased to announce the closing by independent solar power producer Sonnedix of the refinancing of a fully operational solar PV portfolio located in France, for a total debt amount of 189 m€.
The refinancing followed the acquisition by Sonnedix in April of the portfolio of 5 SPVs with a total installed capacity of 55 MW.
The transaction was closed in a short time-frame, benefiting from the favorable market conditions. La Banque Postale, CaixaBank, Société Générale and MUFG Bank, Ltd. acted as Mandated Lead Arrangers.
Astris Finance acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Sonnedix, a long-time client of Astris in France, where they are operating over 250 MW of solar PV projects. Sonnedix has a total controlled capacity of 1.7 GW worldwide.
September 2019 - Astris Closes the Largest French Solar PV Senior Debt Refinancing (810 M€) for Tenergie
Astris Finance is pleased to announce the closing of the Phoenix V transaction, the 810 M€ senior debt refinancing of a 255 MW portfolio of French solar assets held by Terres d’Energie, an investment vehicle jointly owned by Tenergie Group and Credit Agricole Pyrénées Gascogne. Astris Finance acted as exclusive financial advisor to the sponsors on this transaction.
The 170 operating PV assets composing the portfolio had been initially financed through a number of separate project finance facilities. Terre d’Energie took advantage of the attractive market conditions and of the portfolio’s outstanding operational track record to optimize its capital structure. The refinancing made it possible to extend the debt maturity, lower the debt service coverage ratio and significantly reduce financing costs.
The 810 M€ facility was led by BNP Paribas and the Crédit Agricole Group including CA-CIB and Auxifip acting as co-Mandated Lead Arrangers, with the participation of BPI France.
Arnaud Germain, head of Astris Finance activities in France, said: « We are extremely proud to have advised the Tenergie Group and Credit Agricole Pyrénées Gascogne on this landmark transaction, the largest renewable refinancing to date in France. We managed to run a thorough due diligence process and close the transaction in 6 months door-to-door thanks to our seamless cooperation with Tenergie. This is the fifth refinancing transaction we close with Tenergie since 2015. We are very thankful for the trust they have been placing in us over the years. »
Over the past 4 years, Astris Finance has raised over 3.5 bn € of project finance debt and executed 10 M&A transactions for a total enterprise value of c.5 bn € in the French renewable energy space.
August 2019 – Astris Closes the Sale of 72 MW French Portfolio for Marguerite Pantheon
Astris Finance is pleased to announce the successful sale of a portfolio comprised of six ground-mounted PV assets of 12MW each, located in the North East part of France. The portfolio was 100% held by Marguerite Pantheon and managed by Marguerite on behalf of Pantheon.
Tenergie - a leading French IPP - in partnership with Crédit Agricole Pyrénées-Gascogne Énergies Nouvelles, acquired the solar PV assets through their subsidiary Terres d’Énergie.
All projects entered commercial operation in July 2012 and benefit from 20-year Feed-in Tariffs with EDF.
Astris served as exclusive financial advisor to Marguerite and managed the competitive process, which closed in less than 6 months.
Marguerite Pantheon: Marguerite Pantheon SCSp is an alternative investment fund, owning a portfolio of European renewable and concession-based assets, managed by Marguerite. Pantheon, a leading private markets investor in private equity, infrastructure and real assets, is the only investor in Marguerite Pantheon SCSp.
Marguerite: Marguerite is a leading independent fund management company, offering investors access to diversified long-term infrastructure projects in Europe. Marguerite has more than 1.5 EURbn of assets under management through three funds: Marguerite I, Marguerite II and Marguerite Pantheon
August 2019 – Astris Closes the Sale of a 34 MW French Solar Portfolio, held by Ampere Fund and managed by DIF, to Engie Solar
Astris Finance is pleased to announce the successful sale of the Sunrise portfolio of 3 large scale ground-mounted solar plants minority owned by Ampere Fund to Engie Solar. Astris served as the sole financial advisor to DIF, the independent fund manager. Sunrise is the third transaction on which Astris has advised DIF, following the senior debt portfolio refinancing of the Durance solar PV assets in 2017 and the sale Alpine sale process in 2019.
The total capacity of this portfolio adds up to 34 MW. The portfolio included 3 assets, all of which entered commercial operation in 2011. All projects benefit from 20-year Feed-in Tariffs.
July 2019 - Astris Announces Closing of European M&A and Acquisition Financing Transaction
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.”
June 2019- Astris Closes 69.5 MW Solar Portfolio in Chile
Astris Finance is pleased to announce the successful closing of the 69.5 MW Arroyo Solar Portfolio Financing in Chile. The Portfolio includes a mix of greenfield and brownfield assets being developed under the regulated tariff structure of Pequeños Medios de Generación Distribuída (“PMGD”).
Astris served as the sole financial advisor to the Arroyo Energy Group, a private equity fund based in the United States, and Natixis arranged the financing.