Innergex acquires 8 wind parks in France and raises $50M from Desjardins Group

Innergex Renewable Energy has signed an agreement with wpd europe GmbH for the acquisition of a portfolio of 8 wind power projects located in northern France.

The aggregated installed capacity of all 8 farms is 131 MW and the average annual power generation is expected to reach 270,000 MWh when the final wind farm will be commissioned in 2017. All the electricity produced by these wind farms is sold under power purchase agreements (PPAs) at fixed prices, for an initial term of 15 years, with Électricité de France (7 wind farms) and S.I.C.A.E Oise (1 wind farm).

Innergex is expecting annualized revenues in the order of C$35 M and an adjusted EBITDA in the order of C$28 M for the 131 MW portfolio.

Each wind farm has between 4 and 22 turbines, for a total of 52 Enercon turbines and 10 Nordex turbines. The average age of the facilities is two years and the average remaining term of the PPAs is 13 years. All assets are operated by the respective wind turbine manufacturers under the terms of long-term operation and maintenance contracts. Commercial and technical management will be under the responsibility of wpd windmanager GmbH & Co. KG, in accordance with their actual long-term contracts. Innergex intends to maintain the existing contracts until they expire.

The purchase price of €93 million (US$105.9 million) will be financed in part by a private placement of US$50 million.

A Canadian pension fund has also signed a letter of intent to acquire an ownership interest in the projects for a potential investment totalling CAD$50 million, following the closing of the acquisition of the operating assets.

Jean Trudel, Chief Investment Officer, stated:

“With our partners’ capital contribution structured in terms of assets, we are increasing our shareholders’ return while optimizing the investment structure. This financial structure combined with the private placement of common shares allows Innergex to secure the required funds to complete the transaction.”