Macquarie Capital buys into Baltic Sea offshore wind farm
Macquarie Capital yesterday bought a 49.9 per cent stake in the Baltic 2 offshore wind farm in Germany for approximately €720m (£477m), the firm announced.
The investment, advisory and capital markets arm of Australian financial services conglomerate Macquarie Group has partnered with Energie Baden-Wurttemberg (EnBW) – one of Europe’s largest energy supply companies – to buy into the project, with EnBW retaining the lion’s share. Located in the Baltic Sea, the 288 MW wind farm is currently under construction, with both financial close and project completion expected in June 2015.
The deal was financed through a combination of commercial bank debt and Macquarie’s own equity.
“Given the strong regulatory renewable energy regime, we see Germany as a key market for this type of investment going forward,” said Mark Dooley, the head of infrastructure, utilities and renewables at Macquarie Capital Europe.
Macquarie structured and arranged the debt package. Ashurst acted as Macquarie’s legal counsel, and Ernst & Young its tax and accounting adviser. Clifford Chance served as legal adviser to the financing banks.