Canadian company Enbridge has agreed to offload just under half of its 49.9% stake in the 609MW Hohe See and Albatros wind complex in the German North Sea as part of a deal to set up a joint venture with Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB).
The C$1.75bn (€1.14bn) transaction also includes a 49% interest in a selection of Enbridge’s North Americas renewables assets totalling 1.3GW.
CPPIB will also fund its 49% pro-rata share of the remaining construction capital required to complete Hohe See, bringing its total commitment to about C$2.25bn.
EnBW holds the majority interest in Hohe See and neighbouring Albatros wind farms.
The joint venture will also pursue other offshore wind projects in Europe.
The North American assets include all of 14 of Enbridge’s Canadian renewable power facilities and two US plants – the Cedar Point wind farm in Colorado and the Silver State North solar project in Nevada.
Enbridge will retain its interests in other US renewables assets but they may be monetised or sold at a later date.
Enbridge and its affiliates will continue to manage, operate and provide administrative services to the North American and Hohe See projects.
CPPIB head of power and renewablesBruce Hogg said: “Through this investment, we are able to gain immediate exposure to a high-quality portfolio of wind and solar assets across diversified energy markets in North America and Europe, further advancing our global power and renewables strategy.
“We look forward to partnering with Enbridge, an experienced and like-minded operating partner, to support continued strong performance from these projects and pursue further investments in the renewables space.”
Enbridge president and chief executive Al Monaco said: “The monetisation of $1.75bn of renewable assets through our newly formed joint venture with CPPIB is an important step in achieving the objective we set when we rolled out our three-year plan and strategic priorities in December.
“This deal makes a significant contribution to our $3bn asset sales target for the year and will also eliminate $500m of equity capital requirement that we had previously included in our funding plan.”
The deal is subject to closing adjustments and “conditions customary in transactions of this nature”, Enbridge said.
It is expected to close in the third quarter of 2018 subject to the receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals and consents.
CIBC Capital Markets was financial adviser and Dentons legal adviser to Enbridge.
Image: reNEWS
Enbridge cuts Hohe See stake
By EBS