ERG Power Generation has made its first move into the solar market signing an agreement to acquire all the shares in ForVei, which owns and operates photovoltaic plants totalling 89MW in Italy.
ForVei, which is a joint venture set up in 2011 by VEI Green and Foresight, owns and manages 30 solar plants across eight regions of the European country.
The facilities came online between 2010 and 2011 and have a combined output of 136 gigawatt-hours a year.
The transaction’s enterprise value is €336m, with earnings in 2017 projected to be about €35m.
It is expected to close – subject to anti-trust approval and acceptance by lending institutions – by the end of January next year.
The plants are currently funded through non-recourse project financing of €180m and lease agreements of €60m.
ERG chief executive Luca Bettonte said: “Acquisition of this important 89MW photovoltaic platform marks ERG’s entry into the solar energy sector and constitutes a further significant piece of our technological diversification strategy.”
Image: Pixabay
