Paris, France, April 23rd, 2021 - Akuo, an independent global renewable and distributed energy power producer and developer, is pleased to announce that it has successfully completed the debt and equity refinancing arrangements for a 103 MW multi-technology, multi-geography portfolio of renewable energy assets currently in operation.  

Through this transaction, Akuo achieved its goals of streamlining its capital structure and improving its financing costs by taking advantage of current market conditions. The financial resources generated by this transaction will allow Akuo to fund its development. 

 

Phoenix: a multi-technology, multi-geography portfolio

The Phoenix portfolio is comprised of five wind farms located in mainland France and four solar photovoltaic (PV) parks which include a combined 29 MWh of battery storage located in Corsica and La Reunion. These nine renewable energy assets were initially financed individually through separate credit and equity agreements. Akuo will continue to provide asset management services for each project and will also provide O&M services to the solar projects with storage.  

 

Optimised capital structure, improved cost of funding

Akuo closed the equity refinancing with its long-term financial partner, UK based fund The Renewable Infrastructure Group Ltd (TRIG), and a newly formed investment fund, Energy Transition Europe, advised by Energy Transition International Capital (ETIC). The arrangement took the form of convertible bonds. This transaction allowed Akuo to buy back equity stakes from minority shareholders and to simplify and optimize its capital structure.  The debt refinancing arrangement consisted of refinancing existing non-recourse senior debt by taking advantage of more favorable market conditions thus reducing overall funding costs for the portfolio. Bpifrance, La Banque Postale and BPCE Energeco acted as Mandated Lead Arrangers and BCPE Energeco acted as Facility Agent and Security Agent and provided non-recourse senior debt for the refinancing of this portfolio.  

Akuo teams worked alongside the following advisors who enabled the Group to carry out this transaction successfully and despite the challenging conditions related to the COVID-19 pandemic: Watson Farley & Williams and Herbert Smith Freehills (Legal documentation), Herbert Smith Freehills (Legal audit), AON (Insurance audit) Everoze (Technical audit), Ernst & Young Advisory (Financial model review), and Ester (Hedge advisory).  

 

Eric Scotto, Chairman of Akuo says: « We are delighted with this transaction where we achieved all of our objectives regarding terms and flexibility, as well as ownership, notwithstanding the COVID19 uncertainties. I would like to thank people at Akuo involved in this complex transaction and our financial partners for their support and trust.»    

 

Richard Crawford, Director, Infrastructure, InfraRed Capital Partners (Investment Manager of TRIG) said: « The French renewables market remains a key source of diversification for TRIG’s portfolio and we are pleased to expand our presence in the region through this multi-technology transaction. »  

 

Pierre Pochet, Managing Partner - ETIC declares: « This emblematic transaction and first investment for the Energy Transition Europe fund clearly demonstrates ETIC's financial engineering expertise. We are proud to have played a leading role in structuring this equity refinancing and look forward to creating more value both for our investors and our strategic partners such as Akuo. »  

 

Stéphane Pasquier, executive director of BPCE Energeco says: « With this significant transaction, BPCE Energeco once again demonstrated its ability to support a major player in the energy transition over time. We would like to thank Akuo for its renewed confidence in our financial institution, and more specifically its project finance team, which demonstrated great expertise in the conduct of this complex transaction. »  

 

Aurélien Banon, Financing Deputy Director of Bpifrance states: « We are pleased to support Akuo Energy in the refinancing of the solar and wind farm Phoenix portfolio, with a total capacity of 103 MW. Bpifrance as a mandated arranger with La Banque Postale and BPCE Energeco enabled to set up an innovative, flexible and efficient financing solution. This long-term support from Bpifrance, the climate bank, is in line with our commitment to actively participate in the ecological transition and contribute to the growth of international leaders. »  

 

Yannick Chaffaud, Director, Renewable Energy of La Banque Postale says: « La Banque Postale was delighted to support Akuo ; this transaction represents a first and remarkable cooperation for La Banque Postale with Akuo, which is a leading independant power producer. This refinancing aims at providing more flexibility and efficiency to Akuo for future developments. We would like therefore to thank all Akuo team for providing that co-arrangement mandate. »