By Isabella Kaminski
Insurance group Munich Re (represented through its asset management arm MEAG) and investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) have together bought a 49% equity stake in solar photovoltaic (PV) power generator Grupo T-Solar. Grupo T-Solar's total capital expenditure to date on these assets has been €1,073 million (£944m).
Grupo T-Solar’s assets comprise a portfolio of 42 solar PV plants in Spain (34 solar plants) and Italy (8 solar plants) with aggregate installed capacity of 168 MW and a generation capacity of over 250 GWh per year. These assets will be housed in a new company called T-Solar Global Operating Assets in which Grupo T-Solar will continue to retain a 51% equity stake and provide management services. The Isolux Corsán group recently took over the control of Grupo T-Solar.
MEAG and KKR have also entered into an agreement with Grupo T-Solar which gives the new company the option to acquire new solar plants developed by Grupo T-Solar once they are fully operational.
Juan Laso, CEO of T-Solar, says: “This alliance with highly qualified and experienced investors such as MEAG and KKR is very exciting for us as it enables us to expand our presence in the solar photovoltaic sector and consolidate our position as a leading operator in the renewable energy space. The business plan of the group envisages an increase in its generation capacity from 168 MW to over 500 MW by 2014.”
Dieter Wolf, MEAG Managing Director, in charge of portfolio management, says: “We are confident that this is where the future lies, and so we are investing in wind farms, solar farms and new technologies designed to increase generating capacity. Our strategic focus features renewable energies and new technologies – designed to include in our investment portfolio sustainable investments offering attractive returns at an acceptable level of risk.”
It is KKR’s second European infrastructure investment in renewable energy in the past month. Jesus Olmos, the European Head of KKR’s infrastructure business, says: “KKR is continuing to develop its infrastructure platform, and we see renewable energy as one of the most promising areas of infrastructure. We also believe that the Spanish renewables sector is currently an attractive investment destination. T-Solar’s plant portfolio comprises core infrastructure assets providing stable and long-term cash flow visibility as well as offering significant growth potential."