Greencoat UK to acquire RWE’s wind farm for $866m

Investment company Greencoat UK Wind has signed a £648m ($866m) agreement to acquire a 49% stake in the 219MW Humber Gateway offshore wind farm from RWE.

The company will purchase the stake in the wind farm in partnership with several pension funds investing through a fund, which is also managed by Greencoat Capital.

According to the deal, Greencoat UK Wind will acquire a net 38% stake in the wind farm for £500m ($668m) while the pension funds will acquire a net 11% for £148m ($197m).

The total consideration will be paid to RWE after the deal.

RWE will retain the remaining 51% stake in the Humber Gateway offshore wind farm.

Greencoat UK Wind chairman Shonaid Jemmett-Page said: “We are delighted to announce our investment in Humber Gateway, a high load factor, ROC accredited offshore wind farm. This transaction adds another attractive asset to our portfolio which will stand at 38 wind farm investments, with a generating capacity of 1.2GW.

“We are also very pleased to be able to play our part in the wider development of the wind industry, heralded by recent government announcements, and enabling the continued build-out of further offshore generating capacity in the UK.”

Commissioned in June 2015, the Humber Gateway wind farm is located five miles off the Yorkshire coast and serviced from Grimsby, Lincolnshire. It features 73 Vestas 3MW wind turbines.

Greencoat Capital official Laurence Fumagalli said: “We are pleased to add this sizeable offshore wind farm investment to our portfolio, which builds on the relationship we have with RWE that dates back to 2013 with the acquisition of Rhyl Flats and Little Cheyne Court, seed assets in the IPO.

“This will be the third investment we have made this year, and we continue to see an attractive pipeline of acquisition opportunities, both onshore and offshore, as we remain committed to our disciplined investment approach.”

Subject to the approval of RWE’s supervisory board, the closing of the transaction is expected to take place next month.

In April, Greencoat UK Wind agreed to acquire the South Kyle wind farm in Scotland for £320m.