5 December 2017
Terra Firma has reached an agreement to sell the portfolio of operating assets of EverPower, a leading US-based wind energy development and generation company, to a fund managed by BlackRock Real Assets.
Through this transaction, a fund managed by BlackRock Real Assets will acquire 752MW of wind assets across seven sites in Pennsylvania, Illinois, California and New York. Terra Firma continues the sale process of EverPower’s 3GW development business.
Since Terra Firma’s acquisition of EverPower in 2009, the company has successfully grown the operating capacity 12-fold to become a top 25 wind energy producer in the US.
David Giordano, BlackRock’s Head of Renewable Power, Americas & APAC, said:
“This transaction demonstrates BlackRock’s continued focus on investing in renewable power investments, which currently amount to nearly US$5 billion of equity assets under management. The seven operating onshore wind farms that we have agreed to acquire from EverPower will provide our clients with strong geographic diversification in fundamentally sound, strategically advantaged assets.”
Andrew Géczy, Chief Executive Officer of Terra Firma, said:
“I’m delighted to announce today the signing of this agreement to sell EverPower’s operating sites. This reflects our intention to realise our investment in EverPower, and demonstrates our ability to be creative in order to maximise value for our investors. Under Terra Firma’s ownership, EverPower has become a growth-oriented, high quality developer, with a large and very strong portfolio of operational assets. Terra Firma’s decision to divide EverPower’s portfolio reflects the standalone strength and scale of each unit and delivers the highest value to investors.”
Barclays and KeyBanc acted as financial advisors and Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP acted as legal advisor to the seller. Credit Suisse acted as exclusive financial advisor and Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP acted as legal advisor to the buyer.
The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close in H1 2018.