September 2022 – Astris Finance Congratulates its Client Fotowatio Renewable Ventures (FRV) on the Successful Greenfield Financing of a 123MW Solar Portfolio in Spain

September 2022 – We are pleased to announce the closing of the Carmonita Norte Cluster financing in which Astris advised FRV, a leading Spanish developer with a significant footprint in the global renewable space, in connection with the financing of a 123MW solar portfolio composed of 3 green field projects located in Spain.

 Once the plants are operational, project revenues will benefit from a long-term PPA. This portfolio is part of a larger set of Solar PV ground-mounted assets, currently at financing stage.

 This new financing brings several important benefits for FRV in terms of structure, leverage, and stability of cash flow to shareholders. The transaction was arranged and financed by ING, MUFG and Santander Corporate & Investment Banking which provided the +80M€ senior financing facilities.

 Astris Finance acted as exclusive financial advisor to FRV.

September 2022 – Astris Finance acted as exclusive financial advisor to The Blue Circle in connection with its latest capital raise leading to a strategic partnership with ACCIONA Energía.

Astris Finance is very pleased to announce the successful closing of the third round of capital raise of The Blue CIrcle, a leading Singapore-based developer of wind projects in Southeast Asia. The transaction includes a US$34 million equity investment by Acciona Energia in The Blue Circle and a commitment up to US$113.5 million to provide equity for projects that reach ready-to-build status.

The Blue Circle has 84MW of operating wind projects in Vietnam –in which it maintains a 50% voting stake–, and a 1.4GW+ pipeline of projects at an advanced stage of development. The total portfolio under development amounts to 3.8GW spread across Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos and Sri Lanka.

Astris Finance acted as exclusive sell-side financial advisor to The Blue Circle with the mandate to raise adequate capital to sustain the platform’s expected growth over the next five years while minimizing the dilutive impact on the controlling shareholder’s stake in The Blue Circle.

Olivier Duguet, CEO and Chairman of The Blue Circle commented: “We mandated Astris Finance with very specific conditions in terms of partner profile, expected valuation and governance structure, not to mention a “not-to-be missed” long-stop date for completion. Astris entirely managed the process leading to this new partnership with Acciona Energia which is fully aligned with our requirements. I am very thankful for Astris’s commitment, creativity and professionalism in executing this transaction in a timely fashion at this pivotal moment of The Blue Circle’s development.”

Hugo Virag, who heads Astris Finance’s operations in Southeast Asia, said: “We thank Olivier Duguet and The Blue Circle’s shareholders for their renewed confidence in Astris Finance’s capacity to help The Blue Circle raise fresh capital since its very first steps in Southeast Asia, beginning with the long-term, non-recourse project financing of its landmark Dam Nai wind farm in Vietnam back in 2017. We are very pleased with the outcome of this intense six-month competitive process leading to the closing of a well-balanced joint-venture between The Blue Circle and Acciona Energia complemented by an innovative, non-dilutive funding structure.”

Fabrice Henry, CEO of Astris Finance, added: “There is no doubt that the Southeast Asian renewables market is poised for a strong acceleration in the next couple of years, with the upcoming Thai wind program, the launch of a new series of auctions in the Philippines, and the advent of an ambitious PDP8 in Vietnam in particular. In this context, we believe that the partnership we helped establish between The Blue Circle, a regional pioneer, and Acciona, a global renewable powerhouse, will play an instrumental role in helping the region reduce its dependency on fossil fuels.”

This is the tenth M&A transaction closed by Astris this year in the global renewable space, and the third in Southeast Asia in the past 12 months.

May 2022 - Astris Finance advises on partnership for 400 MW+ ready-to-build solar portfolio in Spain and Italy.

The recent acceleration of government deployment targets for renewable projects in Europe, boosted by the current geopolitical situation of the continent, is leading to an increasing number of transactions whereby local developers syndicate their equity interest in their development portfolio to financial or strategic investors, typically at Ready-to-Build (RtB) stage.

The Spanish market is particularly well suited for this type of partnerships given the strong local hurdles that must be overcome to bring projects to RtB, notably in terms of access to the grid. In this specific transaction, Astris advised the developer in the structuring and placement of an efficient co-investment by a financial investor to recycle the client’s development equity investment in a 400+ MW pipeline located in Spain and Italy -- allowing our client to accelerate the growth of their development pipeline.

Gonzalo Ruiz de Angulo, Head of Astris Finance for Spain, Portugal and Poland, said: “We are very pleased we were able to structure the right partnership and source the right partner for our client. The partner brings competitive long-term capital and in exchange gets access to a quality pipeline of RtB projects. This transaction confirms that the RtB stage is a nice meeting point for developers and investors in terms of risk-return combination in the Southern Europe renewable sector.”

Astris Finance acted as exclusive sell-side financial advisor on the transaction. This is the seventh European renewable partnership on which Astris advised on the sell side in the past 24 months.

March 2022 – Astris Finance Congratulates its Clients Prosolia Energy and Omnes Capital for the Successful Debt Closing of a 63MW Solar Portfolio of Projects located in Spain and Portugal.

The three solar PV plants are located in Spain and Portugal with total installed capacity of 63MW, adding a significant number of megawatts to Prosolia’s 200MW portfolio. These projects are a first step within a strategic agreement between Prosolia Energy and Omnes Capital for the development, construction, and operation of a portfolio of utility-scale solar projects of more than 2GW in Europe. The senior debt facilities were provided by Sabadell.

The Spanish project has secured a 12-year tariff through a government-sponsored renewable auction, while the two Portuguese projects will benefit from merchant revenues only. The projects are expected to reach COD during the course of Q1 2023.

Astris acted as exclusive advisor to Prosolia Energy and Omnes Capital on the senior debt raising for this first batch of projects currently being developed by Prosolia Energy. Since 2017, Astris has developed a deep expertise in the Iberian renewable energy sector and has closed over 10 financing and M&A mandates.

March 2022 – Astris Finance Congratulates its Clients Valeco, Mirova and GEG for the Successful Refinancing of a 220MW Wind and Solar Portfolio

We are pleased to announce the closing of the “Lily” project in which we assisted Valeco, a French leading developer, fully owned by the German utility EnBW, Mirova, a French leading asset manager with a significant footprint in the European renewable space, and GEG, a local French developer and electricity provider, in the EUR 300m refinancing of a 220MW wind and solar portfolio composed of 13 projects located in France and benefiting from 15-20y CfDs with EDF.

Project Lily consisted in the refinancing of three sub-portfolios which have been structured based on the existing ownership of the projects, for a total debt amount of EUR 300m. The new financing brings several important benefits for the sponsors: a maturity extension, a lower debt service coverage ratio, the replacement of the existing DSRAs by an unfunded DSRF, the implementation of an optimized and flexible financing structure and a significant reduction in financing costs. The transaction was arranged and financed by Crédit Agricole Group, Caisse d’Epargne CEPAC and BPI.

Astris Finance acted as exclusive financial advisor to Valeco, Mirova and GEG.

February 2022 - Astris Finance congratulates its client Equitix for the successful acquisition of the Grünwald geothermal plant in Germany.

Astris advised Equitix on the acquisition of 100% of the shares in Grünwald Equity Geothermie GmbH (“GET”). The plant was sold by Grünwald Equity. Astris Finance acted as buy-side financial advisor to Equitix.

GET is a geothermal combined heat and power generation facility connected to a district heating network in Bavaria, Southern Germany. The plant was commissioned in 2014 and currently has 42 years of remaining operating life, its primary objective being the production of electricity and heat from thermal brine energy. The generation facility has an electricity generation capacity of 5.5 Mwel, with an expected yearly production of c. 34 GWh, and a heat generation capacity of 12 MWth, with an expected yearly production of c. 43 GWh. The project will help avoid c. 20kt of CO2 emissions per year.

”We are very pleased we advised Equitix in connection with the acquisition of this combined heat and power geothermal plant in Germany. The transaction shows the attractiveness of the German market and underpins once again that international investors are keen to invest in operational assets which benefit from a strong feed-in-tariff framework.” said Theoharis Saroglou, Director of Astris's Hamburg office.

This is the second successful closing for Astris Germany in six months, following the Q4-2021 closing of the sale of a wind portfolio managed by German asset manager KGAL to Italian renewable IPP ERG, for which Astris acted as sell side advisor to KGAL.

November 2021 – Astris Congratulates its Client Marguerite for the Successful Acquisition of an Equity Participation in ZE Energy

We are pleased to announce the closing of Project Zeus, for which Astris advised Marguerite, a leading European investment fund. The transaction consisted in the acquisition of an equity stake in French company ZE Energy through a capital increase. Astris acted as exclusive financial advisor to Marguerite.

ZE Energy was founded in 2019 by an experienced management team of former Solairedirect and Engie employees. It is an integrated solar-plus-storage developer whose business model relies on a combination of solar PV, battery and aggregation activities. Its main markets are France, Spain, the UK, Italy and Germany. Through this capital increase, Marguerite will own a significant stake in ZE Energy, alongside existing investors.

This landmark transaction further strengthens our relationship with Marguerite, whom we advised two years ago for the sale of their French solar portfolio. It will also undoubtedly pave the way for additional work in the fast-growing storage sector.

November 2021 - Astris Finance congratulates its client Urbasolar for the sale of two French greenfield solar portfolios representing c. 400MW

November 2021 - Astris Finance congratulates its client Urbasolar, one of the largest vertically integrated solar power producers in France, 100% owned by Axpo (the largest Swiss producer of electricity from renewable sources) for the signing of the Cassiopée Transaction, which consisted of the sale of a participation in two French greenfield solar portfolios with an aggregate capacity of c. 400MW to Predica (Crédit Agricole Assurances), a leading French insurance company. Astris acted as exclusive financial advisor to Urbasolar.

The acquisition, made by a dedicated vehicle named PredUrba, is the first milestone of an ambitious partnership agreed between the two parties, in which Predica will have the opportunity to acquire up to 2.4GW of solar assets located in France and potentially other European countries in the next 3 years.

"Since the beginning of 2020, it is the fifth partnership between a renewable energy developer and a financial investor which Astris has successfully arranged. This trend illustrates the growing interest of the market for these partnerships, which are a clear win-win proposition: they allow the developer to finance its growth by accessing equity at a competitive cost from an experienced investor, and they allow the investor to deploy liquidity by accessing a diversified pool of low risk renewable projects from an experienced developer," says Arnaud Germain, Head of Astris France & Germany.

October 2021 - Astris Finance congratulates its client KGAL for the sale of a wind and solar power portfolio with an installed capacity of 152.4 MW in Germany and France

The wind and solar portfolio, managed by KGAL on behalf of a German pension fund through a separately managed account, has been acquired by ERG, the leading Italian listed IPP, through its subsidiaries ERG Eolienne France SAS and ERG Windpark Beteiligungs GmbH.

It comprises 15 SPVs, seven photovoltaic and three wind farms with an installed capacity of 56.7 and 40.6 MW respectively located in France; and five wind farms with an installed capacity of 55.1 MW located in Germany.

The projects were commissioned between 2012 and 2017 and benefit from a feed-in-tariff with an average expiry date of 2032. The estimated total annual production of 273 GWh equals approximately to 2,100 equivalent hours for wind assets and 1,300 equivalent hours for photovoltaic assets, which amounts to 150 kt of avoided CO2 emissions per year.

“Asset divestment is becoming an increasingly important part of KGAL's investment strategy as we focus on an active buy-build-sell approach in our current funds.“ says Michael Ebner, Managing Director of Infrastructure at KGAL Investment Management. “With an experienced advisor like Astris Finance, we can achieve the best possible results for our investors in the transactions.“

”We are very pleased we advised KGAL in connection with the disposal of a scarce and sizeable renewable energy portfolio in Germany and France and to have successfully closed our first mandate in Germany since the opening of our Hamburg office in March 2021.” said Theoharis Saroglou, Director of Astris's Hamburg office. "The transaction shows the attractiveness of the German and French markets and underpins once again that international investors are keen to invest in operational assets which benefit from a strong feed-in-tariff.” added Arnaud Germain, Head of Astris Finance France and Germany.

Astris Finance acted as exclusive sell-side financial advisor to KGAL and involved Astris teams both in Hamburg and Paris.

August 2021 - Astris Finance congratulates Grupotec for entering into a partnership with Glennmont for the development of a 473MW portfolio of Spanish projects

August 2021 - Astris Finance is pleased to announce the closing of the partnership between Grupotec and Glennmont to develop a 473MW solar photovoltaic (PV) portfolio in Central and Southern Spain.

The transaction, one of the largest of its kind this year, was agreed in August 2021 with the Spanish developer and EPC contractor Grupotec.

Grupotec will continue to partner with Glennmont on the construction and operations side, leveraging on Glennmont's track record in building over 1GW of solar power in the last 14 years including 650MW in Spain. The projects will be built using Tier-1 solar technology partners.

The 473MW portfolio marks the latest milestone for Glennmont's Clean Energy Fund III following the launch of BNZ, Glennmont's new independent power producer (IPP). BNZ plans to deploy 1GW of solar PV across Southern Europe bringing Glennmont's total development pipeline of solar PV to over 1.5GW.

Astris acted as co-financial advisor to Grupotec.

August 2021 - Astris Finance congratulates its client Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) New Market Fund I for the successful closing of “Project Batavia” in Indonesia

CIP New Market Fund I has entered into a joint venture with the Indonesian affiliate of French Akuo Energy to develop, build and operate an initial 400MW pipeline of onshore wind, solar and run-of-the-river hydro projects in Indonesia.

Niels Holst, Partner and Head of CI NMF commented: “We are delighted to take this first important step together with Akuo who we see as a great partner, and are grateful for the important role Astris played in helping us close this partnership. Indonesia is a market with relatively limited renewable energy penetration, but very significant potential, and is therefore a key focus market for CI NMF. We look forward to delivering best of class, large scale and cost competitive renewable energy to Indonesia.”

CIP’s first investment in the Indonesia renewable energy market comes in anticipation of the publication of a revised national electricity supply plan (known as RUPTL, its Indonesian acronym) for 2021-2030. The plan is expected to increase the proportion of renewable power to 30% of electricity generation in 2030.

Astris Finance acted as exclusive financial advisor to CIP during the privately-negotiated M&A process and involved Astris teams in Singapore, Jakarta, HCMC and Paris.

”We are very pleased we advised CIP NMF I in connection with the structuring and equity financing of this ambitious JV, a rare transaction of scale in the Indonesian renewables sector. We share CIP’s vision for a greener energy sector in the largest consumer market in South East Asia. We wish the new partnership a bright and successful future in Indonesia”, said Hugo Virag, Head of Astris Finance’s operations for South-East Asia.

August 2021 – Astris Finance advises its client TSE for the closing of a strategic partnership with La Banque des Territoires and Siloe

Astris Finance congratulates its client TSE, one of the leading French solar energy developers, for the closing of the Aphaia Transaction, which consisted in designing and establishing a strategic partnership in order to finance the growth of a 1 GW+ ground-mounted solar PV platform located in France.

The transaction, which has closed in August 2021, took the form of a minority investment made by la Banque des Territoires (Caisse des Dépôts) and Siloe (Credit Mutuel Equity Infrastructure Fund) in the platform owning the solar assets.

The partnership consolidates TSE’s ambitious development in the French and European markets.

Astris acted as exclusive financial advisor to TSE.

July 2021 - Astris congratulates its client Uriel Renovables for the successful closing of the project "Ventus Part II" in Poland

July 2021 – Astris Finance is pleased to announce the c. € 25m debt closing for the 20.7MW Debnica Kaszubska windfarm project in Poland.

With 6 Vestas V126, 3.45 MW turbines and a total installed capacity of 20.7MW, the Debnica Kaszubska wind farm project (the “Project”) is the second wind farm fully developed by Uriel Renovables (“Uriel”), a company dedicated to the development, construction and operation of renewable energy projects in Europe and Latin America. The senior debt facilities were provided by commercial bank DNB and export credit agency EKF.

The Project has secured a 15-year Contract for Difference (CfD) through the 2019 renewable auction organized by Poland’s Energy Regulatory Office and it is expected to start production in Q1 2022. The Project also benefits from a short-term PPA with Axpo for part of its merchant production during the first 3 years of operations.

Astris acted as exclusive advisor to Uriel on the senior debt raising. Astris’s involvement with Uriel in Poland began with the renewable auctions of 2018 and 2019, when Astris advised Uriel on the design of a winning auction strategy. Since 2018, Astris has developed a significant expertise in the Polish renewable energy sector and has secured more than five financing and M&A mandates.

July 2021 – Astris Finance congratulates its client, the Paris-based private equity investor Omnes, for the refinancing and subsequent divestment of a 80 MW wind and solar portfolio in France.

The portfolio consists of five wind farms with an aggregate installed capacity of 58MW and two photovoltaic power plants with an aggregate installed capacity of 22MW. The seven assets are in operation and benefit from the French incentive tariff system.

FPCI Capenergie 3, a fund managed by Omnes Capital and the original owner of the portfolio, sold a 100% interest in the portfolio to Italian renewable group ERG. Shortly before the sale, Omnes had implemented a portfolio refinancing, raising more than 100m of senior debt from La Banque Postale and Crédit Agricole Unifergie.

Astris acted as exclusive advisor to Omnes on both the senior debt refinancing and the equity divestment.

June 2021 – Astris congratulates its client Celeo on the successful closing of the Aries Solar Termoelectrica (ASTE) refinancing transaction.

Astris Finance is pleased to announce the closing by Celeo of the refinancing of two brownfield concentrated solar power plants (“CSP”) with a total combined capacity of 99.8MW in Spain. The plants have been operational for over 8 years. Celeo (owned by Spanish contractor Elecnor and Dutch pension fund APG) is a fully integrated investment and asset management platform focused on solar photovoltaic (201 MW), CSP plants (150 MW) and transmission lines (5,776 km) in three core regions (Spain, Brazil and Chile).

The transaction included the refinancing of the two CSP plants for a total senior debt amount of circa €350m in two term loan facilities: MEAG provided the institutional tranche and Banco Santander, BBVA, CACIB, ING and Bankinter acting as Mandated Lead Arrangers provided the commercial bank tranche.

Astris Finance and Banco Santander acted jointly as financial advisors to Celeo.

May 2021 – Astris Finance is pleased to announce the successful refinancing of a 342 MW portfolio of 10 Spanish wind farms owned by Mirova, Engie and Forestalia.

The transaction consisted in the refinancing of the bridge loan provided by commercial banks to fund the construction of the wind projects. Once the projects reached COD, the Sponsors decided to refinance the bridge loan with a long-term, non-recourse senior debt financing, provided by 5 commercial institutions. The wind farms have a 10-year PPA with Engie for the majority of their production.

Abanca Corporación Bancaria, Banco Sabadell, Bankinter, Société Générale sucursal en España and Unicredit Bank provided the c. 211 m€ financing facilities, comprising a senior debt term facility, a senior debt reserve facility and the required decommissioning and PPA L/Cs.

Astris Finance acted as exclusive financial advisor to Mirova, Engie and Forestalia.

May 2021 - Astris congratulates UNITe for the successful closing of the Springs&Falls transaction

Astris Finance is pleased to announce the successful refinancing of a renewable portfolio in France, owned by French IPP UNITe.

The transaction consisted in the refinancing of a portfolio of French renewable assets, including three windfarms providing 23 MW of power and 27 hydro-electric assets producing 33 MW. Each asset has a PPA contract with EDF for all or part of its production. The projects are expected to produce 180 GWh of green energy, which is equivalent to the annual consumption of 38,000 households.

BPI France and Société Générale provided the EUR 68m senior financing facilities. This transaction enabled UNITe to refinance 32 loans provided by 9 different lenders, a leasing for one of the hydro assets and a EuroPP debt at Sponsor level. In addition, 10 swaps were unwound concurrently for the anticipated repayment of the existing debt.

Astris Finance acted as exclusive financial advisor to UNITe.

May 2021 – Astris congratulates Hexagon and TTR for the closing of the financing of Sud Marne, France’s largest onshore wind project (122 MW).

May 2021 – Astris congratulates Hexagon and TTR for the closing of the financing of Sud Marne, France’s largest onshore wind project (122 MW).

Hexagon Renewable Energy SA, an independent power producer incorporated in December 2020, managed by TTR and owned by a consortium of investors – Crédit Mutuel Capital Privé, la Banque des Territoires, Amundi Transition Energétique, Generali Global Infrastructure, Mirova and TTR – announces the closing of the financing of the Sud Marne project located in Eastern France. Wholly owned by Hexagon, the Sud Marne Project will be the France’s largest onshore wind project (122 MW).

The project has raised no-recourse senior debt arranged and subscribed by BPCE Group (BPCE Energeco and Caisse d’Épargne et de Prévoyance Grand Est Europe) and La Banque Postale, as well as a VAT revolving facility provided by BPCE Energeco. La Banque Postale and Natixis also acted as hedging banks.

Energy sale is secured for 20 years through the award in 2019 of a contract for difference with EDF-OA through its participation in the 2017/S 083-161885 request for proposal. The electricity production of the Sud Marne project is equivalent to the annual consumption of 151,200 households and will avoid the production of 118,000 tCO2 per year.

Energy production is planned to start in January 2023. The project consists of 30 4MW and 4.2MW turbines supplied by Vestas. Construction works have begun in May 2021.

Astris Finance acted as exclusive financial advisor to Hexagon and TTR in the structuring and closing of the transaction.

February 2021 - Astris congratulates its client DIF for the successful closing of the project "Winch-P" in Italy

February 2021 – Astris is pleased to announce the sale of a 10 MW solar brownfield portfolio owned by DIF and located in southern Italy.

The portfolio comprises 10 operational ground-mounted solar assets, 100% owned by the Ampere Equity Fund, which is managed by DIF Capital Partners (DIF), an independent infrastructure fund manager. The installed capacity of the assets ranges from 888 kWp to 999 kWp, resulting in a total installed capacity of 9.7 MWp. All assets were commissioned in 2011, providing more than 9 years of operational track record, and benefit from feed-in-tariff contracts with Gestore dei Servizi Energetici.  They are remunerated under the Quarto Conto Energia incentive scheme and the contracts provide fixed, non-indexed prices covering the entire production capacity.

The portfolio has been acquired by Tages Capital SGR, an asset management company, specialized in renewable energy infrastructure and part of the Tages Group.

Astris served as financial advisor to DIF alongside ValeCap. Astris has a long-standing relationship with DIF, for which it has acted as exclusive advisor on several other M&A transactions and a senior debt portfolio refinancing over the last couple of years.

December 2020 - Astris congratulates its client Uriel Renovables for the successful closing of the project "Ventus" in Poland

December 2020 – Astris Finance is pleased to announce the debt and equity closing of the 145MW, €173 m Bialy Bor windfarm project in Poland.

With 42 Vestas V126, 3.45 MW turbines and a total installed capacity of 145MW, the Bialy Bor wind farm project (the “Project”) will be one of Poland’s largest onshore wind farms and will provide clean energy to over 100,000 households. It is expected to start production in Q1 2022. The Project has secured a 15-year Contract for Difference (CfD) through the 2019 renewable auction organized by Poland’s Energy Regulatory Office.

The Project was developed by Spanish developer Uriel Renovables ("Uriel"), a company dedicated to the development, construction and operation of renewable energy projects in Europe and Latin America. The senior debt facilities were provided by commercial bank DNB and export credit agency EKF. Shortly before financial close, a fund advised by Mirova, a French asset manager dedicated to sustainable investing (including investing in energy transition infrastructure) and an affiliate of Natixis Investment Managers, acquired a majority stake in the Project from Uriel. These transactions are a testimony to the growing interest from leading European players in the rapidly developing Polish renewable energy market.

Astris acted as exclusive advisor to Uriel on both the senior debt financing and the equity divestment. Astris’s involvement with Uriel in Poland began with the renewable auctions of 2018 and 2019, when Astris advised Uriel on the design of a winning auction strategy. Since 2018, Astris has developed a significant expertise in the Polish renewable energy sector and has secured five financing and M&A mandates.