Sale marks firm’s second successful fund completion in 2013.
London, 4th November 2013: Renewables infrastructure specialist Platina Partners LLP, has today announced the completion of the sale of its Long Mountain wind farm to leading independent Irish energy company Energia, a member of the Viridian Group. The project was the last asset to exit Platina’s Mistral Energy I (ME I) fund, which has now completed its full investment cycle. Earlier this year Platina completed the full investment cycle for its Mistral Wind Farm I Fund.
Launched in 2002, ME I focused on the development of UK and French onshore wind assets and delivered a gross IRR above 60%[1] to its investors. Previous investments from the fund included UK-based Your Energy Limited and PM Renewables’ projects, sold to AES in 2010, and French Société Française d’Eoliennes, sold to Sorgenia in 2007. The Long Mountain project is a 27.6MW fully-permitted site located in County Antrim, Northern Ireland.
Commenting on the announcement, Thomas Rottner, Managing Partner of Platina Partners said: “Platina was the first European GP to successfully complete the full investment cycle of a renewable energy fund with MWF I in June this year. This second completion confirms Platina’s track record in delivering outstanding returns to our investors.”
“Whilst this exit concludes Platina’s first two funds, we continue exploring additional renewable investment opportunities for our current funds.”
Peter Baillie, Managing Director, Energia Renewables said: “We are delighted Energia already supplies over 600MWs of renewable energy, and we are the greenest energy supplier on the island of Ireland. The acquisition of Long Mountain will add to our pipeline of over 300MWs of near term windfarms.
“With our expertise in constructing, financing and operating windfarms and energy offtake contracts, this ‘green’ energy will help to power businesses across Ireland. Energia remains one of the most significant contributors to the achievement of Ireland’s renewable targets and one of the largest investors in the renewable sector.”
Platina currently has over 400MW of onshore wind and solar assets under management.
Augusta & Co. acted as exclusive financial advisor to ME I on this transaction.
About Platina Partners LLP
Platina Partners LLP is an independent European investment firm established in 2002. It focuses on renewable energy infrastructure projects (mostly wind and solar) with a team of 25 professionals enjoying a track record of developing, financing, constructing, and operating over 700MW of on-shore wind and solar projects across Europe. In France, Platina Partners also focuses on special situation buyouts with a team of seven professionals.
With equity under management of c.€500m and an experienced investment team based in London, Paris and Milan, Platina Partners has a track-record of delivering value to its investor base which comprises leading institutional investors, pension funds and family offices.
For more information please visit the website: www.platinapartners.com
For media enquiries please contact: Oliver Williams +44 (0)20 7269 7294; oliver.williams@fticonsulting.com
About Energia
· Energia Group comprises of Energia Supply, Energia Renewables and Energia Generation and is a leading supplier in the Irish business energy market. Energia has powered businesses for 13 years. It has a 28% market share of the business electricity and gas market on an all–island basis, and over 65,000 customers.
· Energia is the Greenest Energy Supplier on the island of Ireland (Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) report 2012 on fuel-mix and CO2 emissions for individual electricity suppliers licensed in Ireland) for suppliers with a substantial number of customers eg 3000+.
· Energia has a 37% market share of Irish SME business, powering every third shop and 60% of schools and colleges. It supplies, the national airwaves and TV stations, all mobile networks in Ireland and 95% of the street lights.
· Energia Renewables is among Ireland’s leading providers of sustainable green energy, providing 25% of Ireland’s wind power. It currently has over 300MWs of projects in development and has invested over €200m in windfarms since 2008.
· Energia Generation has invested over €500m in Irish energy generation infrastructure in Dublin, demonstrating its long term commitment to the Irish energy market and is capable of supplying 20% of Ireland’s electricity needs.
· Energia Group has a turnover in excess of €1 billion and employs around 260 staff.
Energia Group is a member of the Viridian Group and has offices in Dublin, Galway, Cork, Belfast and Omagh.
[1] Past performance and volatility figures are no guarantee of future returns and risk, which may differ substantially from historical experience and simulations.
