Investors

JPMAM partners with Sonnedix in solar JV

JP Morgan Asset Management and solar power producer Sonnedix have formed a 50/50 joint venture to pursue opportunities in the solar power sector.

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Sonnedix Power Holdings is the new 50/50 joint venture that JP Morgan Asset Management, on behalf of its institutional investors, and solar power producer Sonnedix have created to pursue opportunities in the global solar market, the two companies said in a statement.

The joint venture platform currently operates 17 power plants with 117 megawatts (MW) of installed capacity in France, Italy, Spain, Thailand and Puerto Rico. It has another 18 projects with more than 600MW of capacity in the pre-construction stage in Japan, Puerto Rico, Chile, UK and South Africa.

“These are exciting times in the clean energy market and Sonnedix’s experienced management team, highly focused on execution and operations, is well positioned to benefit from the confluence of technology improvements, operational efficiencies and economies of scale,” said Matt LeBlanc, chief investment officer of OECD Infrastructure at JPMAM – Global Real Assets.

“This combination results in a lower cost of solar PV [photovoltaic], even with the current energy market volatility, and these operating investments are already generating consistent and growing investment yields supported by long-term contracts,” LeBlanc added.

Sonnedix, which is headquartered in Rennes, France, develops, builds, owns and operates solar power plants globally. According to its website, the company owns 30 solar power plants at various stages of maturity in key markets with control of 558MW of production capacity. In addition to the markets where it already has a presence, Sonnedix is evaluating development and acquisition opportunities in current and selected new geographic markets such as Mexico.

Based in New York, JPMorgan Asset Management – Global Real Assets is part of JPMorgan Asset Management’s Alternatives Investments business, which collectively manages over $120 billion in client assets across real assets, hedge funds, credit and private equity.

As of September 30, 2014, the Global Real Assets team, which focuses on real estate, maritime/transport and energy in addition to infrastructure, had more than $82 billion in assets under management.