Blackstone in $852m exit for Mexico’s largest wind farm

Blackstone has divested Mexico's largest wind farm, Ventika, to local energy infrastructure developer IEnova for an enterprise value of $852 million, the asset manager said in a statement.

The 84-turbine, 252MW wind project, which consists of two adjacent wind farms, was majority-owned by Blackstone Energy Partners, the firm's private equity energy business, and Fisterra Energy, which is owned by funds managed by Blackstone, alongside minority shareholders. Fisterra developed the project together with building materials company Cemex, which will continue to manage it.

The $852 million purchase price breaks down into a cash payment of some $375 million in addition to the assumption of about $447 million of debt. Blackstone pointed out that Ventika has long-term project financing in place and added the purchase price was subject to post-closing adjustments. The deal is set to conclude in the fourth quarter of the year, subject to regulatory and IEnova shareholder approval.

“This transformative project, which has helped reduce Mexico's CO2 emissions and reliance on oil-fired generation, is emblematic of the types of projects we endeavour to develop around the world,” said Blackstone senior managing director Sean Klimczak.

Blackstone has over $9 billion of equity invested across the world in different sectors within the energy space.