Etrion buys Deutsche Bank’s Italian solar assets

Etrion Corporation, a Canadian energy firm, has signed an agreement to buy a portfolio of Deutsche Bank solar assets in Italy for €10.3 million plus a contingent deferred payment of €1.5 million.

The transaction is scheduled to close on April 30 with Etrion funding half of it with cash and the other half with a bridge loan from Swedish oil and gas company Lundin Petroleum, its major shareholder. The latter will carry a three percent interest rate over LIBOR, the London interbank lending rate.

The portfolio being acquired includes six megawatts of operating assets, 10 megawatts of authorized projects ready for construction in the Puglia region, in south-eastern Italy, and a pipeline of more than 150 megawatts in various stages of approval. The operating assets benefit from feed-in-tariffs, a premium purchase price for renewable electricity that is guaranteed by the Italian government for 20 years.

They also benefit from an existing debt facility of up to €45 million from French banks Societe Generale and Dexia, of which €28 million have been drawn to date.

Etrion is listed on the Toronto stock exchange but is based in Geneva, Switzerland. It focuses on building and managing electrical power plants based on renewable sources of energy across the globe. Lundin Petroleoum owns 45 percent of Etrion with the Lundin family owning another 13 percent through various vehicles.