Engie, Credit Agricole Agree To buy Spanish Form Eolia Renewables for €2 bn

French energy major Engie and insurance firm Crédit Agricole Assurances acquiring Spanish renewable energy company Eolia Renovables. By the end of the transaction, the two firms will own 97.33 % of Eolia.

The deal will add 821MW of onshore wind capacity, 78MW of solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity and a pipeline of renewable projects whose total capacity amounts to 1.2GW for Engie. Canadian institutional fund Alberta Investment Management Corporation i selling its majority stake in the deal..

While Crédit Agricole Assurances will own 60% of the operational assets, 40% will be owned by Engie.

Engie has a target of installing 50GW renewable capacity by 2025. Like some of its other deals in partnership, it will be responsible for the completion and maintainance of the projects, while the other partner manages the financials.

The deal marks yet more consolidation in the space with the value of deals involving alternative energy companies has more than doubled this year to an annual record of $92 billion, according to Bloomberg.

Engie has already made its focus on renewable energy clear by selling its energy-services business Equans for 7.1 billion euros to French construction conglomerate Bouygues SA.

French banking major Credit Agricole on the other hand has emerged as the no 1 financier of renewable energy in France.

Eolia, a 14 year old firm, has been churning its renewable energy portfolio like most developers actively, with a high focus on a portfolio consisting of assets in Spain in recent years.