Australian investment manager AMP Capital has agreed to acquire a 50% interest in the 420MW Macarthur wind farm in the state of Victoria for A$880m (€544m).
The acquisition is on behalf of investors in the AMP Capital Community Infrastructure Fund (CommIF) and the AMP Capital Core Infrastructure Fund (CIF).
Macarthur is located in south western Victoria and comprises 140 Vestas V112 3MW turbines spread across 5500 hectares of agricultural land.
The project has been operational since 2013, with electricity sold to AGL under a fixed price contract until 2038.
The deal is expected to complete by the end of the first quarter of 2020.
AMP Capital was advised by MUFG Bank, PwC, King & Wood Mallesons, Aurecon and Frontier.
AMP Capital CommIF fund manager Charles Savage said: “We’re extremely pleased to have secured this asset for our investors.
“Macarthur wind farm is a unique and high-quality asset that meets CommIF’s objective to produce long-term, stable returns while delivering a positive social impact now and into the future.
“The transaction marks CommIF’s first investment in the renewable energy sector.
“It has an attractive risk profile that provides fixed revenues that are not exposed to price or volume risk.
“We remain excited by the pipeline of further opportunities in social and community infrastructure projects across Australia and New Zealand in 2020.”
AMP Capital CIF fund manager John Julian said: “Macarthur wind farm is a terrific addition to the CIF portfolio.
“The fund aims to provide retail investors with both sustainable income and capital growth over the long term – the acquisition is well-aligned to this objective.”