Three Gorges (CTG) has reached an agreement to acquire a portfolio of 619 megawatts (MW) of photovoltaic assets from Nexwell Power in what is its largest transaction to date in Spain in terms of capacity, according to market sources quoted today by the newspaper Expansión.
Details of the price have not yet been disclosed, but sources suggest that the value of the deal is in excess of EUR 200 million.
CTG has won the competitive process against large corporations, including Naturgy and Ferrovial. Engie also participated. The process has been advised, for the selling side, by Lazard as financial advisor, and Uría as legal advisor. Société has acted as financial advisor to the Chinese giant in the process, which has counted on the legal services of Clifford Chance.
CTG, which is headed by Ignacio Herrero in Spain, continues to consolidate its operations in the country, where it has been involved in four major transactions, including Nexwell. It previously bought assets from EDP Renováveis, the green subsidiary of the Portuguese group, X-Elio and Corporación Masaveu. Never before has it bought so many MW in one go. Specifically, the assets to be acquired by CTG, once it obtains the relevant authorisations in this type of transaction, include 153 MW already in operation, while the rest, up to 619 MW, are projects in various stages of development.
Of this portfolio, 52 MW are already under construction and the rest are ready to build (ready to build, in technical jargon). They will be operational between 2023 and 2024. All the assets are photovoltaic and are concentrated in the regions of Castilla-La Mancha, Extremadura, Valencia, Murcia and Andalusia.
The transaction is articulated through China Three Gorges Europe, which is part of the CTG Group. It is the largest renewable energy holding company in China and the largest hydropower company in the world. Its installed capacity is 75,000 MW and it has more than 26,000 employees worldwide, with total assets of more than 120 billion dollars.
CTG Europe is EDP’s largest shareholder with a 20% stake. It has already invested heavily in other clean energy generating platforms in Europe and is actively pursuing growth opportunities. With this deal, China Three Gorges adds 2,000 megawatts of renewables in Spain, and becomes one of the big players in green energy in this country.
It is yet another step in the offensive by large foreign funds and energy companies to position themselves at the forefront of the renewables race in Spain. A month ago, Verbund, Austria’s largest energy group, sealed the purchase of a huge renewable portfolio in Spain from Q-Energy in a deal worth around one billion euros. It has acquired 82 MW of photovoltaics already in operation. In addition, there are other projects under development, both wind and PV, totalling 2,100 MW at an advanced stage and a further 2,400 MW in less developed projects.
A month earlier, SSE, Iberdrola’s great rival in the UK, acquired, for 580 million, a portfolio of 3,900 megawatts under development in Europe, half of them in Spain.
