Ardian Sells 422-MW Wind Capacity To Naturgy

Private investor Ardian has agreed to sell ASR Wind, a portfolio of 12 wind farms, to Naturgy, the Spanish renewable energy group. The wind farms are in different regions across Spain. Commissioned between 2005 and 2012, the farms have an installed capacity of 422 MW. The deal has been done against a consideration of EUR 536 million and is expected to be completed by July.

Ardian has used the ASR Wind platform to manage other renewable energy projects in Spain and Italy, totaling 1GW, which were excluded from this transaction.

The wind power projects that have been sold off to Naturgy are located in Castilla y León (5), Castilla La Mancha (3), Catalonia (2), Galicia (1) and Andalusia (1).

Ardian acquired 95% of the ASR Wind portfolio in 2019, representing the first investment of its fifth-generation fund, Ardian Infrastructure Fund V. The remaining percentage is held by Exus Management Partners, which will also exit the company’s ownership following the transaction.

“The attractiveness of this type of asset has also been demonstrated by the strong interest it has received in the market. Furthermore, we will continue to develop our remaining 1GW portfolio with AGR-AM and continue to create value,” said Juan Angoitia, Co-Head of Infrastructure Europe, Ardian, on the Naturgy deal.

Ardian said that the transaction’s closing is scheduled for the end of July once Naturgy has completed the competition procedures required by the authorities.

Besides the take-up from Ardian, Naturgy presently has 1000 MW of renewable energy projects that are under construction and they are expected to be operational by next year. Naturgy is an international renewable energy player. It is currently operating more than 5.5 GW of capacity.

The executive president of Naturgy, Francisco Reynés, said, “This acquisition has an excellent strategic fit, fulfilling the investment parameters of our company and demonstrating that financial discipline and inorganic growth are compatible to create value. Incorporating these assets into our portfolio allows us to advance in our objective of being a relevant actor in the energy transition in our country”.

Ardian said that alongside the management of wind farms, the company is driving several other value-creating initiatives, including the hybridization of wind assets with solar photovoltaic power generation systems led by AGR-AM, the renewable asset manager dedicated exclusively to the firm’s portfolio in Spain and Latin America.