The bid for Iberdrola’s macro-portfolio of renewables in Spain has a new bidder. The Greencoat infrastructure fund, in the hands of Schroders, has burst into the bidding and is facing Norges and the alliance formed by Arcelor Mittal and the Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) fund, according to financial sources. The Norwegian fund emerges as a great favourite.
After the summer, Iberdrola entrusted Barclays with the search for a partner to ally in the development of its green portfolio in Spain. The so-called Romeo Project involves the sale of 49% in a macro portfolio made up of 150 MW of wind power and another 1,100 MW of photovoltaic power. All this is valued at 1,200 million euros.
The company will receive the final offers during this week. But it already has three investors who will dispute the throne of allying with the great Spanish electric company. This is the Norwegian fund, Norges, and an alliance formed by the steel company Arcelor Mittal and the CIP fund, to which Greencoat has joined.
This fund is in the hands of Schroders, one of the largest asset managers in the world. It is its specialized energy vehicle, endowed with 9,000 million pounds (10,200 million euros). Founded in 2009, it is aimed at investing in bioenergy, renewable heat, and solar and wind energy in the United Kingdom, Europe, and the US. In Spain, it has a 50 MW photovoltaic park under development and has agreed to sell it to BP Lightsource. And a 20 MW wind farm.
Everything indicates, however, that Norges is the favorite to win the bid. With this operation, it would carry out its first renewable energy transaction in Spain, although up to now it has bet on the national market by taking shares in listed companies. The sales agreement is expected to be signed after Christmas.
The operation is not, strictly speaking, a sale, but a way for Iberdrola to finance its growth in renewables. It seeks to transfer 49% of this portfolio, for which it will enter about 600 million, since it is valued at 1,200 million euros. The company expects to receive the final offers this week, select the winner next week and close the transaction during the first quarter of 2023, once it obtains regulatory approval.
It will be his first move after the presentation of his new strategic plan. This plans to invest 47,000 million until 2025, of which, it will dedicate 17,000 million to renewables and 36,000 million to networks. To these are added another 11,000 million that it will dedicate to the integration of its star operation in recent years, the takeover of the American company PNM Resources.
One of the countries where the group has focused on growing in renewables is Portugal. The company has a roadmap to invest 3,000 million in this market, with the aim of tripling its photovoltaic capacity by 2023. For the Spanish market, the company will dedicate 6,000 million, according to this new strategic plan. Place the payout between 65% and 75% of net profit.
